The loyal wolf
by Locke62
Summary: Kyle lost his home long ago, now he has been forced to live on the streets. most would be bitter, depressed, or at least dissatisfied about these conditions. But Kyle still believes there is something in the world for him, all thanks to a meeting long ago with a little red hood. Now he trains hard, all for the task of meeting her again. Assuming his bloodline doesn't interfere.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. I only own the storyline and my OC's. Written for my good friend Kyle.**

Humanity is a despicable existence. So easy to control. So easy to break. They will turn on each other at a moments notice. They are vain creatures, for in their eyes everything else are made up of insignificant and inferior beings. They look upon each other with disdain, even more so with the faunus. Humans are truly despicable beings.

That's why I have every right to hate them. They took everything from me. They took my home. The took my family. They took my life, too, making me live in these disgusting allies. But in the end, there was one thing they couldn't take. They couldn't take who I am.

That's why I don't burn with hatred and the urge to kill and oppress them like they've done to us. It's because I still remember the one who was kind to me and offered me a home. I would like to say I accepted and grew up happy, living together with that person and having a good life. But I can't.

I have to say that was the lowest point in my life. My life had been destroyed and I had ran away from what was once my home, now a pile of wreckage. I was eight at the time. I ran for a long time, without a destination or a plan. I avoided contact with other people, resorted to stealing to stay alive. I have no idea how long I was like that, but I know I wasn't able to continue forever.

I collapsed in the street, weak and dying. I remember thinking to myself, why don't any of these people notice me? Am I really so insignificant that you would just walk by as I'm dying?

My heart died right there. Broken, I dragged myself into the shadows of an ally and laid against the wall and waited for my body to finally fail for good. I have no doubt that I would have, too, if it weren't for her.

Red was the first person in what felt like forever who showed me kindness. She was walking with her uncle, a man with stubble on his chin and black hair as messy as a mop on his head. She noticed my unconscious body and pointed it out to her uncle. I was told later that she begged him with tears in her eyes, but Red denied it with fire.

When I came to, I was lying in a bed in an unknown house, a plate of food and a glass of water sitting just out of reach on the bedside table. I tried to grab it, but my body was too weak and I let my arm fall limp onto the mattress.

"You're awake." A voice said from the doorway. I turned my head to see a tall man in white shirt and black jeans. A torn up red cape hung from shoulders, fluttering occasionally from a breeze coming through the open window. "Good to know we didn't pick you off the street for nothing."

A fleeting thought of climbing out the window and making a run for it flashed through my head, but I soon gave up with that thought since it was beyond my capabilities to grab the food. "Why... am I..." I tried to ask, but I was silenced by a cup of water. It was then I came to meet the second half of the "we".

The little girl wore a small, miniature cape like the man's along with equally red shorts and a black shirt. I didn't notice her originally because she was so small, the top of her head a couple of inches down from the top of the bed. She had gotten up onto a stool to give me water, pushing the cup up into my face. I tried to sit up and take it but my arms refused to support my meager weight. The man in the doorway came over and helped sit me up and put the water glass to my lips, allowing me to drink my fill before he put the glass back on the table.

My throat now wet, I tried to use my voice again. "Why are you... Helping me?" I asked the man. It hurt to speak.

"You shouldn't ask me. It was my niece here who saw you." The man said, pointing to the little girl. "I wouldn't have found you if it weren't for her."

I turned to look at the little girl. Two small hands gripped the edge of the bed to support her tiny frame to a point that she could see him. She still stood on the stool but had her hood up, so all I could really see were her silver eyes. Those silver eyes stared curiously out of her hood at me, or rather, my ears.

"Why?" I asked weakly. My stomach growled and I doubled over in pain. The next thing I knew those tiny hands of hers were pushing a plate of eggs as far as she could onto the bed. I still remember the taste eleven years later. They tasted like trash, but it was the best trash I ever tasted.

I had carefully picked up one of the pieces and put it into my mouth, tears streaming down my face in what felt like forever. "Why?" I asked again. "Why do you people help me?"

"Because you needed help." The girl said brightly. She removed her hood, revealing her black hair with red tips and pale skin. "When I grow up, I want to be a huntress and help lots of people!" I couldn't see any signs of doubt or deceit in her eyes. Even when I was young I knew she was different from those I met so far. And it frightened me.

I ate my food and they left, little Red's uncle ushering her out and claiming I needed rest. And that was the last I saw of the little girl I owe my life to.

I slept most of the day with one eye open, not fully sure if I should trust these humans. I wanted to believe them, I even believed what little Red told me. But that didn't stop me from running. After the others in the house fell asleep, I took the pillow case off of its pillow and snuck into the kitchen and filled it with food and bottles of water. I left a note on the table. All it said was sorry. I then slipped out the window in the room they gave me, making sure to close it behind me before I disappeared into the night.

It's been eleven years since my encounter with little Red, and a lot has changed. I've cut down on the stealing and I don't openly oppose humans anymore. I've grouped together with others who've found themselves stuck on the streets and left with nothing like me. We've all been attending combat school for different reasons. Some want to fight. Others come for the food. A few go to use the showers. All together there's eight of us who live on the street and go to combat school, close friends in our own right. Some of us even live together. They ended up finding a rotting old building and we all turned it into our home base, a meeting ground where we come when we want company. Some smart mouth in our group called it the trash house and the name stuck, mainly because we all liked the name. And just like it name implies, it is always trashed.

I'm not one of the three residents of the trash house, but you can find me rather easily. I spend a lot of time on the rooftop. Most people rarely look up, so I have a personal highway all over Vale. It's also a convenient way to keep what little things I have hidden and out of reach. Nobody noticed when I built my own camp up here, complete with tent and storage! I just have to remember to hide them when the sun comes up.

I know what you're all thinking. Oh, poor guy. He's homeless. And the rest of you are like, ayeeee, assassino! Do you have hidden blades? To answer your question, I have never actually played assassins creed (I live on the roof and rely on school and dumpster diving for food, what part of this looks like I have money?) but I do have hidden blades, just not those kind. As you know, everyone in combat school has their own weapons. Mine are light metal bracers that cover half my forearms and my hands, save the fingers. I have a dagger strapped to the bottom of each one out of sight to everyone.

Before I go on, I should probably tell you what I look like. Give you a face with my voice. My name is Kyle, last name long forgot. I stand five foot six, I have dark grey hair and grey wolf ears. I have dark blue eyes and I'm barely more than a skeleton due to lack of proper food. Okay, good? Then enough about me. Let me give a brief introduction to my group.

First we have Lucas, one of the two humans in our group. He and his sister ran from home for there own reasons, we never pried too hard. He's average size, just a bit bigger than me. He's devoted to looking out for his sister, maybe a bit overprotective at times. Otherwise he's perfectly friendly. They live in the trash house.

His sister Sarah is an outgoing person. She is also one of only one of us who knows proper first aid. Her unusual purple eyes give her an exotic look. She stands at five foot two, but looks can be deceiving. One time a guy grabbed her ass and she pretty much put him through a wall.

The final resident of the trash house is Lucas's girlfriend Nix. She's a cat faunus, and a pretty one at that. She has raven hair and light brown eyes, plus a tall slender figure. We gave her the nickname shadow walker since she has this unnerving ability to simply disappear into the darkness. Don't let that make you think she rely's on stealth though. In combat practice she is a blur of dark leather armor and daggers. Served my ass good, she did.

Next comes the uncatchable partners in crime, Kaze and Brian. These two are some of the finest thieves you can come by. They excel at everything from a simple pickpocket to shoplifting enough to feed all of us. Their the oldest ones among us, they also attend Beacon so we rarely see them. Then again, we know their still there because we will occasionally find extra lien in our pockets. They seem to especially like doing this to ever attentive Nix, who it bugs beyond no end because she doesn't notice them. I guess you just don't mess with ferret faunus.

Then we come to our rule stickler, Connor. The guy should be dead by all honesty, since he refuses to break the law. We cut a deal with him a while back. We swipe parts for him so he can continue to tinker with our weapons (when we're not hiding them from him. Who knew there was something as too creative) and he'd eat the food we bring him. Kind of a lopsided deal if you ask me, but I can't argue with it. He's so good when we found him he was making things out of bits of metal he'd find and selling them for a profit. We still don't understand why he's homeless, but we look after him since he's one of our own.

and lastly we have Bruce. Kid's never been quite the same since we snuck into a movie theater to watch batman. Being the youngest, you'd expect it to be our responsibility to look after him. Instead, I wake up in the middle of the night to find him beating up a guy for robbing a convenient store across the street. Still haven't gotten around to asking Connor to stop supplying him with batarangs. It's still kind of funny to see your low level crook getting beaten up by a fourteen year old batman.

And there you have it. Our dysfunctional gang of homeless people carrying around weapons. We're unseen and not cared about, but we're used to it. So yes, humans took a lot from me. But one gave me a life nobody else has. This school year, half of us are going to apply for beacon academy. Nix, for her future career. Sarah, to train her aura. Lucas will follow his sister anywhere she goes. And me. In a few more years, she will be old enough to become a huntress. And I will be waiting with an apology for running away, and to thank her for all she's done to me.

See you soon, little Red.

 **Hey guys, it's the author. Just an intro to start with today. Hope you guys stick around for the story, I have a lot planned for the times to come. Change of plans. Combining chps 1 and 2 because it makes more sense.**

The four of us passed our entrance exams with flying colors, our future in beacon secured by the time we left school. It's not like we had anything at home to do anyway, so studying was easy. The six of us are currently sitting in the trash house, stolen soda sitting on the table as we celebrate our departure for the next day. We made sure not to tell Connor the soda was stolen.

All in all, the party wasn't bad. Kaze and Brian dropped by earlier but left early, claiming they had an eventful night planned before they returned to beacon. And here is where our story begins.

I sat on a torn up old cushion and watched Nix and Sarah play a rather heated match of chess, me and Lucas each having wagered our unopened soda on the winner.

"Ooh, nice move." Nix complimented as Sarah took her rook with one of her bishops, putting her in check. "To bad this game is mine." Nix brought her king over a space, clearing a clean line of sight from her queen to Sarah's King, still in the back row. Sarah didn't have any pieces to block, so she lost the game and I lost my soda.

"And thank ye, moon." Lucas said, downing my drink in a few seconds.

"Eh, a bet's a bet. No reason not to pay." I said, grabbing another drink. "The last Pepsi is yours. At least, until you learn I put laxatives in it."

Lucas spit out his drink, covering Connor's hair in soda. "What? It was unopened, how did you...?" Multiple people laughed at his incredulous expression.

"I lied." I told him, a very wolffish grin plastered to my face as I took a sip from my own soda. "But at least I was right about you losing the last of the Pepsi."

Lucas checked his soda can. Sure enough, it was empty. He sighed in defeat and tossed it into a stolen garbage can in the corner. "Even when you lose you win, huh? Is that even fair?"

"Wasn't supposed to be fair." Nix told him, taking a seat next to him on the half demolished couch. "It was funny." She giggled as Lucas's face started to go red in embarrassment. Sarah imitated him, pretending to projectile vomit on the table. Bruce passed Connor a towel with his monkey tail. Connor thanked him, drying off his white rabbit ears with it. Lucas's rifle laid disassembled on the table in front of him along with multiple odd tools and some dust.

"At least you didn't get it in the parts." Connor told Lucas.

"I'll make it up to you with some more parts when I get to beacon." Lucas said. "Or I could convince Kaze to steal some carrot cake."

"No stolen goods." Connor told him, taking a sip of his stolen soda. "However, I could use a new dust dispenser for my weapon. The one I have looks like we dug it out of a garage can."

We laughed. "We did dig it out of a garbage can." I reminded him.

"Exactly." He replied. His hands were a blur as he reassembled the rifle, handing it back to the owner. "Here's your gun. It's now equipped with a quick release for faster reload speed and I readjusted the firing mechanism. It won't shoot as fast as before, but it should be a bit more accurate with the barrel mod." He then turned to me and extended his hand. "I'll be doing yours next Kyle. Hand them over."

I hesitated, putting my left hand on my right bracer. I had grown used to the feel of the worn leather on my palm that kept the plate of metal on the back of my hand attached. I guess in a way their kind of like a gauntlet since it's built like a sleeve. "Why don't you do Nix next?" I suggested.

"Because I already modified her daggers." Connor replied. "Come on, let me see them. You never let me tinker with them and I'm dying to see what they do!"

"You should give up." Bruce said. He removed his bracers and put them on the table, swearing when the sharp blades sprung out the back and nearly cut him. "You haven't seen him fight yet. Putting any sort of special effect on those would just hinder him."

"What do you mean by that?" Connor asked, reaching for the bracers and taking them apart. "Yup, the springs are broken give me a minute and it will be fixed." He tinkered for a minute and replaced the broken parts. "So anyway, back to what I was saying. Let me see your gear. If not modify it, repair it."

I sighed, knowing I wasn't getting out of this. I reached into the space between my bracers and my arms and in one quick motion drew my twin seven inch single edged tantō knives, spun them as I raised my hands high into the air, and buried their tips into the table. The action took just over a second to complete, causing Connor to jump back in surprise. "As you can see, they don't need any work." The different colored handles waved in the air as the daggers swayed slightly.

Connor tenderly grabbed one of the daggers and pulled it out, examining the blade with an expert eye. "Where did you get this?" He asked, bouncing the weapon in his hand to test its weight.

"My parents dead bodies." I replied, the room suddenly falling silent. None of us really talked about the past, always taking the here and now as the most important time. Your past didn't feed you, after all. So this was the first any of them heard of my past. I snatched the weapon out of the air before it could fall back into Connor's hand and pulled the other one out of the table. "The red one was my mothers. The blue one was my fathers. Neither one has been, or will be, used since their deaths. Not unless their used on my true enemies, just like they taught me."

The room was quite, no one asking who his true enemy was. Finally Bruce spoke up. "Where did the gauntlets come from?"

"Not from any bodies, I can assure you that." I said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. "I made these myself. And before you ask, they do nothing Connor. Their just armor."

"Overly simple for this day and age." Lucas commented. He had grabbed another soda, making sure to have Nix smell check it for laxatives before drinking.

"True." I admitted. "But I generally don't want to kill my opponent. I reserve my knives for the Grimm." I noted a sigh of relief come from several of the people in the room and laughed. "What? You thought I was out for vengeance or something? Come on guys, I couldn't hurt a fly."

"What about those guys who openly oppose us?" Sarah asked, an amused glimmer in her eye. "You know, the guys who dressed like dog catchers and tried to attack us? The ones you

put in the hospital?"

"Hey! Those guys struck first, I was defending my family." I defended, causing a laugh to rise in the group.

"I don't think the doctors would agree." Sarah said. "Besides, you looked like you enjoyed yourself."

"Did not." I lied. The truth was I enjoyed it immensely, serving back their offense against us ten fold. I may or may not have stolen their shoes too. What? I only said I cut down on stealing, not stopped completely.

"And I like sea food." Nix said in a mock believing tone.

"Wait, you don't like sea food?" Bruce said. Nix nodded. "But you're a cat! How could you not like sea food?"

Nix shrugged. "I just never liked fish. That's it." The conversation drifted to everyone's preferred food before they it somehow switched to how Grimm would taste. I made a mental note to not eat anything these guys cook for me.

I yawned and checked my watch, realizing with a start that it was getting rather late. I excused myself from the party and left, claiming I had to get some sleep before we left for beacon. I took a deep breath, enjoying the brisk night air before ascended to the roof tops. I felt the pleasing sensation of the muscles in my hands and forearms flexed and strained. They grew more hairy, a coat of dark grey fur growing in a few seconds on my skin. My muscles bulged, my palms growing more rugged and firm. My finger nails extended and became more pointed, becoming sharp enough to pierce the metal bulkhead of an airship.

I crouched low and jumped as high as I could before digging my claws between the bricks and launching myself higher into the air, catching the ledge and pulling myself up. My hands quickly reverted to their normal state, the dull hunger in my stomach sharpening from using my semblance. It was an unfortunate side affect of using my semblance, causing me to burn through my calories at an alarming rate. Since I can only count on one meal a day I rarely use it, but I'm expecting three good meals from here on out. An upside, I'll never gain weight!

I made my way through the city to the docks where the airships would be arriving come morning, snagging an apple on the way to dull the blade of hunger in my stomach. After picking a spot where I was sure that the whine of the engines of the airships would wake me I set up camp and fell asleep, dreaming of curling up under a thick red cover.

* * *

I woke up shortly after eight to the low whine of the first airship, quickly jumping into a scramble to pack up and hide my stuff into my bag before they spotted me. I quickly sent a message to Lucas to wake the others before I slung my bag over my shoulder and descended to the ground in a nearby alleyway and made my way to the landing zone. The others joined me twenty minutes later with Bruce in tow.

"Where's Connor?" I asked, noticing the snow hare's absence.

"I don't know. He left shortly after you." Lucas said. He had his deep blue rifle Tiger's Eye slung over his shoulder and a hand on the strap. It was currently in its sniper form.

Next to him stood Nix in full combat attire of black leather vest and pants, three knives on each shoulder, two on each side behind her, three rows of four throwing daggers on each side of her front, and a set of five throwing knives on each leg. How she remembered what each set of knives did always escaped me, but she was down right impressive in a fight.

In contrast, Sarah looked as harmless as a new born in her school uniform as she skipped along in front of the couple. She handed me a bag of cookies with a smile before going to a random air ship and disappearing into the crowd. Lucas chased after her. Nix and I followed, me tracking Sarah's scent (or more accurately trying to, it was hard with the large crowd.) and eventually guessed my way onto the right ship. Twenty minutes later the last call summoned the last stragglers and we took to the air. Turns out, Lucas got onto the wrong ship. We found this out when we passed one of the other two ships and we saw him pressed against the glass. We made sure to make faces at him when he noticed us before disappearing into the mass of people on the ship with us. He call us a few minutes later but the call was quickly ended when someone emptied the contents of their stomach onto his scroll.

The girls disappeared halfway through the trip to the bathroom and left me by the holographic television or whatever it was. I'm sure Connor could tell me just what it was but I wasn't up to the half hour lecture that always followed. An image of some kind of outlaw came on screen, the board he was holding labeled him as Roman Torchwick. I personally thought he looked pretty good but I wouldn't trust him more than I would trust a ferret.

The news channel was cut off as a hologram of a human woman appeared. I didn't hear what she said since the girls came out of the bathroom at that moment and some guy in metal armor tried to grab Sarah's butt. She didn't send him through a wall this time, but she did leave quite the fist imprint on his breastplate and cracked the window with his body. I let out a low whistle, impressed that the guy was even conscious after that hit. I almost felt bad for the guy, but I felt that he deserved it for even trying.

Our airship landed second after Lucas's. I accompanied the girls part of the way until I smelled the foul odor of vomit and made up some excuse of needing to use the bathroom and took off towards the school at a hurried pace. I was almost to the door when an explosion went off behind me, causing me to turn around to see a small mushroom cloud in the middle of the courtyard. Oh, such glorious destruction. And I'm not caught in it again, yay!

"Looks like I don't need to be with Connor to blow up anymore." I said to myself, laughing at the thought. I wandered into the crowd of other inmates or (students as society calls them), lost my wallet, then realized I don't have a wallet.

I eventually got back together with the trash house family and received another bag of cookies. I could tell they were homemade, but when I asked when she got access to an oven to make them she just brushed it off. "Is our princess joining the ranks of us criminals now?" I teased. I was silenced when miss overly friendly gave me a cold death glare. I had to remember, is she really the kindest of all of us?

"Don't insult me, peasant." Sarah said, raising her chin to look down on me. "I earned my royalty amongst thieves with as much of the art of shadows as you."

"In other words, you were too damn adorable for us not to spoil you." I said nonchalantly.

"Pretty much." She said brightly, a childish grin spreading on her face. We went quite as Ozpin took to the stage, called us wasted potential, and something something something. I stopped paying attention when I noticed something entertaining happening with a blonde beauty, a white haired rich looking girl, and what seemed like a dark haired girl. I could only see the top of her hair, but by the sound of her voice I could tell she was a girl. What was so amusing about the situation? The small girl had no idea that the white haired girl was behind her, giving off the aura of a predator about to kill its prey. I could almost hear the sound of the jaws theme song playing.

Sure enough, when the girl made her presence known the little girl jumped into her sisters arms. It was then my blood went cold and my body froze. "Th-that hood..." I stuttered. It couldn't be. I still had a few years to grow into something worth being proud of, something worth saving. Why did she have to show up when I'm still a thieving street rat? If I meet her now, my carefully thought out plan would be ruined! Plus, I may have fleas.

"hellooooo- remnant to Kyle. Are you okay in there? We can't read your vitals on the monitor anymore." I was brought back to the real world by Lucas waving a hand in front of my face. I shook my head vigorously and stumbled forward and breaking my trance. "Thank Oum, he's broken out of the stone! Come on you furry lump, dinners starting."

"Wh-what? Where is everyone?" I asked dumbly, suddenly finding myself in a much emptier room than I remembered.

"At dinner, you moron. Let's go, I'm starving." I followed Lucas into the cafeteria, letting him guide me through the line and to the table where the girls were. They where digging in to their meals like savage wolves. I found this ironic because I was the only wolf out of the four of us and I was to busy picking at my food to eat it.

Sarah was the first to notice that I hadn't eaten anything. "Bro, I think the puppy's sick." She told Lucas, bringing his attention to me.

The thought of snapping back with not being a puppy crossed my mind for a second, but I couldn't get the my mouth to work. I glanced in the direction of little red, still so small and young. I started to wonder if she was actually my age and if I screwed up my planning.

Lucas followed my gaze and a wicked grin growing on his face. "Eh, the big bad wolf likes little red riding hood huh? Or are you more of a pedobear?"

"I'm not a pedaphile!" I snapped back, my fire coming back to me.

"Hey,hey,hey, calm down bud. Your fur is showing." Lucas said defensively, sidling a few inches away from his friend who had shot up almost three inches in just a few seconds. My body shrank back to its normal proportions.

I grunted and turned back to my food, eating it with vigor for once. "It's not like I like her, I don't even know her." A half said, half growled. "I just owe her a large debt and have nothing to show for it."

"Oh? How much?" Nix asked. Her face was that of a con artist figuring out how much to extort from a victim.

"Over a decade's worth of living and breathing." I responded, shutting her up. I sighed, knowing that they will get the wrong idea or something down the road. "When I was but a boy, I lost my home. There's nothing special about this though, we all lost that. But my case I burned out from running and collapsed. I would have died in the street if it weren't for a little girl in a red hood. She took me home and cared for me, bringing me back to life. Her uncle said I was free to stay as long as I wanted and little red was eager over that too. But in the end I betrayed them, running from their kindness like a brat. I got up in the middle of the night when they were asleep and raided their food, disappearing into the night without so much as a thank you."

"So you think you owe that girl a debt." Nix summarized. "Come on man. You're Kyle, part of our group of merry men. You don't owe anyone nothing."

"If someone took you in, saved your life, and offered you a new one, would you take it?" I asked her. She paused, trying to decide to stick with her guns or admit he was right. "Not just anyone would do that. Especially not a human for a faunus. So yeah, I owe her." I turned back to my food before mumbling quietly. "I just wanted to be something before I had to confront her again."

"Kyle, you are something." Lucas said. "You might not believe it yourself, but look around you. It takes something special to get into beacon. It also takes being different to not only survive our life style, but thrive. And what about your fighting style, your semblance? Your not normal, not by a long shot. If you're not something already, then you never will be."

I didn't want to admit it, but Lucas was right. I've already set myself apart from the masses just by being here. There was no reason to still see myself on the level of a poor kid crawling in the dirt. Wait, am I being tricked into feeling good about myself?

My thought process was interrupted as a random cooked chicken came flying out of nowhere. I moved out of instinct, swatting the bird out of the air faster than the eye could track. The chicken changed directions ninety degrees and flew down the table, taking out a lot of people's drinks in the process. My eyes locked onto the one who sent the chicken flying, a rather energetic girl in pink who couldn't have been on fire if you just added a little more energy. A guy in green seemed to be trying to keep her in check, but by how little his efforts seemed to work he could probably use some help. As long as it's not me, that is.

"Well, this looks like it's going to be an interesting year." Sarah said, examining the destruction.

"Eh. What else would we expect?" I replied, returning to my meal. "You arm teenagers with deadly weapons and dust, train them to kill, and release them on the world. What could possibly go wrong?"

The answer? Everything.

 **Hey guys, it's the author. Well, that was fun. We saw some interesting events in this one. We got a peek at Kyle's semblance for starters. We also got a view of little Red herself. Oh, I'm dying to get to the next part and reveal more. But I'm willing to bet that it won't be for a while that you will get the full picture. Here, I'll give you a hint. How many of you know of Fenris Wolf?**

 **Until next time, see you in the emerald forest!**


	2. Chapter 2

**to any new return readers that don't know already, I combined chapter one with the original chapter two. Make sure you go check that out so you don't miss anything. This beginning will sound really good if you read it in cinder's voice.**

In the days before civilization, before the hunters, even before dust, there were people. And where there were people, there were Grimm. Humanity had been a fragile existence from the start, easily falling prey for the more savage and powerful creatures of Grimm. They where hunted to near extinction, their short existence in jeopardy of being snuffed out before they even began. That was when they discovered dust. But what you were never told, something even the sands of time themselves forgot, was that they didn't discover it on their own.

As you well know, almost all Grimm are savage and seek nothing but the destruction of sentient life. But even with their brutal ways and animalistic appearance, they are not completely mindless in nature. In fact, they originally had souls. Especially the one beowolf who favored humanity over his own kind.

Yes, this is how it all began. Not with humans taking a final stand and discovering dust on their own, but with the intervention of an unlikely ally. This beowolf sought out the oldest man alive and taught him to use the power of the elements, how to materialize his soul in the form of aura, and of the existence of dust. In turn, the man passed on his knowledge to the humans and his powers over the elements to four maidens, but that's a story for another time.

Inspired by the beowolf's kindness the great and powerful Oum granted him the form of a human, bringing forth the first faunus. He also gave him the name Fenrir to symbolize the end of the era of the Grimm's tyranny that he had heralded, opening the path for civilization as we know it. He also stripped the Grimm of their souls, decreeing that they wouldn't need them with their nature and damned their existence.

Fenrir was grateful for Oum's gift, but he did not fully trust the humans. He feared they would still see him as a monster he once was. Oum heard his fears and brought into existence the other faunus species. Fenrir, deeply honored, vowed that he and his descendants would protect the world from the Grimm's endless hunger. And thus began the age of the hunter.

* * *

I stood on my square looking over the emerald forest, enjoying the wind in my face. I half listened to Ozpin's speech while looking over the other first year students, sizing them up for potential partners. I took note of little Red towards the end of the line with her weapon drawn and in a ready stance. My eyes locked with Lucas on the first square and I pointed into the forest then pointed up, mouthing the word "tree." He nodded and pulled out his rifle in shotgun form.

The next moment he was summersaulting through the air yelling at the top of his lungs.

"So he really can swear like a sailor." I said as I watched my friend right himself in the air before he hit the tree line. _Well, at least he's in the trees._ I thought to myself. I counted the people to go flying before me and turned my back to the cliff, counting down the thumps of the spring throwing people.

 _5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Pew!_

I was now flying through the air, hands cupped behind my head and my legs crossed as if I was just taking a nap on the ground. What? Can you really blame me for showing off? This was the perfect time to pull something like this! I could practically feel the stares on me from those yet to launch.

Feeling my upward momentum start to wear off I faked a yawn and rolled in the air so I could see where I was going. With the tops of the trees approaching at a rapid rate I focused my aura to my hands and legs and prepared for my most extreme parkour run ever. My body broke through the thin top branches without a problem, causing a hailstorm of tiny broken twigs to fall to the forest floor. I caught hold of some of the thicker branches with my hands and broke them as I passed to slow my decent slightly until I saw a branch that could probably support my weight. Biggest problem, I was still moving to fast. Just before I hit the branch I positioned my legs beneath me and started to kick out. Instead of landing on the branch and getting hurt I launched myself forward at another thick branch. I proceeded to move from tree to tree at high speed, steadily slowing down after each branch. Finally I grabbed a hold of a particularly thick branch and used the last of my momentum to flip over it and land on top.

"And he sticks the landing!" I shouted triumphantly, raising both arms in the air. I allowed myself to soak in the achievement for a moment. Okay, moment over. Now to find Lucas. I jumped from tree to tree as I made my way to the general area that he could have landed in, hesitant to descend to the forest floor in case another student found me first. I thought it was a good plan...

...Until I got blindsided by a truck. I'm not kidding, it was a large heavy hunk of metal with a very poor driver. Or would it be flyer?

"IIIInnnnnnn Cominnnnnnnggggg!" That was all the warning I had when a massive metallic weight slammed into me, knocking me through trees and implanting me in a decent sized crater. The hit drained my aura almost completely. I know this because I was still in one piece on landing, but one does not simply get hit by a meteor and walk away in perfect condition.

"Did anyone see the license plate on that hit and run?" I groaned, getting to my feet. Three yards away laid the pile of green metal that had knocked me out of the sky at the end of a rut it had created in the ground. To my surprise (in other words I totally saw it coming) the great hunk of metal got to its feet, revealing itself as a girl in extraordinarily heavy armor. Her upper torso was covered in mossy green plated steel like armor, protruding at her chest to account for her breasts. On each shoulder were three overlapping mossy green plates that seemed to increase her size at least six inches more than her real proportions, her arms and legs were garbed in a similar manner to her torso. Long blond hair spilled down her back. On her back was a two handed great sword almost as big as I was. Oh yeah, and she was huge, I would guess over six and a half feet tall. First impression? Is that a girl or a tank?

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" The girl said, walking towards me with a concerned look on her face. "Are you hurt anywhere? I didn't try to hit you, I swear." There was silence for a second before she spoke again. "Why are your eyes closed?"

"Because we haven't made eye contact yet." I replied, stumbling a bit when I shifted my foot. "I have a friend in the area and we had planned to partner up." There was no response, which surprised me since I thought that I was being a little rude. I opened up one eye to find that the girl wasn't there. Confused on how someone so big could just disappear I glanced to my left, found nothing, then to the right, finding curious blue eyes very close to my own. "Holy shit!" I jumped back, creating distance between me and madam mountain.

"Do you want to be my friend?" She asked, completely ignoring any offense taken from my last comment.

 _Bad touch, Bad touch! Stranger danger!_ My fight or flight instinct screamed at me, making it very hard not to flee from the very, very strange girl who now technically my partner. She was smiling innocently at me, still bent over with her arms behind her back and her head tilted to the side.

"Friend?" She asked, leaning a little closer.

"Umm, I don't know your name." I said, uncomfortable of the lack of personal space.

"Oh yeah, I forgot!" The girl cried, straitening up. I let out a sigh of relief since she was no longer in my face. "My name is Isabella Freelance. Nice to meet you!" She held out a hand to shake, almost hitting me in the process.

"I'm Kyle." I said, taking her hand and shaking it. I cringed as her iron grip threatened to turn my bones to dust. "Strong... Grip..." I said, my voice contorted with pain. Isabella released me, apologizing frantically again. I waved it off as an accident and checked over my gauntlets for damage. I was relieved to find them without so much as a nick or scratch.

"Sooooooo, Now what?" Isabella asked. At that moment my scroll went off.

"Hello?" I said as I opened up a voice call from Lucas.

"Who's the lady in the armor?" Lucas asked, skipping over the greeting.

I looked around, unable to locate the marksman in the immediate area. "Where are you?" I asked.

"Quarter of a mile to the east, altitude of thirty feet." Lucas responded, his measurements of distance as accurate as ever. I spotted a small blink of sun light off of his scope as he revealed his location for a moment before he moved it out of the light. I wasn't the only one who saw it as Isabella stepped in the way and stabbed her sword into the ground, it's edges expanding outward to create a shield big enough to hide three people including herself behind.

"Sniper!" She yelled, trying to shove me into the ground. I deftly dodged her attempts before I jumped out of her reach.

"It's a friendly." I told her, getting her to lower her shield. "Change of plans Luke. She's my partner now because... unforeseen circumstances."

"Yeah, I saw her knock you out of the sky. Good job on surviving that by the way." He paused. "You guys have about thirty seconds until you have to engage some targets, so get ready. I count five hostiles nearing your position from the north."

"Can you take them?" I asked.

"Nope, overgrowth to thick to get a clear shot. You're on your own." Lucas replied. "Twenty seconds. Meet me half a mile northeast when your done." The call ended, terminated on Lucas's end.

"Contacts." I called out, the foliage parting exactly where Lucas said it would as a pack of beowolves burst forth in an attempt of a surprise attack. Isabella reacted faster than someone would expect a girl in around forty pounds of armor to, cleaving the first beowolf in half from shoulder to waist and using the moment from first attack to spin and bisect the second beowolf at the waist as it tried to run past her to get to me. She then went on to bat away a third with the flat of her blade, taking two mighty strides to where it landed and raised her sword high into the air before plunging the tip into its chest and killing it instantly.

While Isabella was occupied with her kills, so was I. I caught a slash from the first beowolf with my right forearm, pushing it back and hitting it in the chest with an palm strike. I then ducked as the second beowolf lunged from the right, sweeping the first's legs out from beneath it with a low sweep kick. I rolled to the left between the second beowolf's legs as its claws came down where I was seconds before, springing up and over it as it spun to try to slash at me and kicking the first in the face as it was getting back up. The second beowolf spun once more and lunged at me with its claws. I side stepped to its left and grabbed its arm as it passed, elbowing in the shoulder and dislocating its joint. The beowolf staggered backwards and I swept under it, using my whole body to knock it completely off balance and pushing with my legs and back to throwing it onto the first one before it could get up again. Both beasts down, I drew my weapons in a quick motion and plunged them into the monsters skulls.

"Well, that was easy." I commented, wiping the blood off my knives on the Grimm's fur.

"Yeah." Isabella agreed. "It's almost as if we ambushed the ambush!" She jumped and pumped her fist into the air, getting surprisingly high up for her choice of gear.

I put my daggers back in their sheaths hidden in my gauntlets and brushed the dirt off of my legs. "Come on, let's go meet up with the 'sniper', as you call him." I said, leading the way.

"Yes sir!" Isabella snapped into playful salute before following after me.

We made it to target point without any problems and met up with Lucas and the girls, Sarah and Nix managing to partner up without any trouble. After a quick introduction Lucas took point and led us in the direction he believed the ruins to be. Sarah and Isabella hit it off almost immediately, chatting away about anything and everything that came to mind. Nix stayed out of their conversation and took the job of rear guard, her cat ears swiveled around to listening for anything nasty trying to flank us.

"Hey Lucas." I whispered to my friend, pulling even with his strides. "What are you going to do for a partner?"

"I'll figure it out." He whispered back, glancing at his sister then his girlfriend. "I was counting on the four of us on being on the same team."

"So was I, until I got shot down by a missile of feminine origin." I replied. I then noticed a smell that didn't belong in a forest. "Does anyone smell something burning?" I asked. Lucas and Sarah shook their head. To my surprise, both Nix and Isabella nodded.

"It's origin is from up ahead and to the left." Nix said. "We should probably avoid it and head towards the right. And quickly too, fire spreads fast." Lucas nodded and was about to listen to her suggestion when Isabella spoke up.

"We can't go that way." She said simply, causing everyone to look at her funny. "That way leads to a massive canyon with what looks to be ruins of a sorts. It's hard to tell its structure because it's really old and corroded."

"And how do you know that?" Sarah asked.

Isabella shrugged. "It's a specialty of mine." She replied.

"Um guys," Lucas interrupted. "I think we've stayed to long. I can smell the fire now." As soon as he said that as of glow could be seen through the trees, the forest fire enclosing on them fast.

"Follow me and stay close!" Isabella ordered, charging towards the burning forest.

"Hey, are you crazy!?" I shouted, chasing after her with the others in tow. Isabella didn't answer, expanding her sword into a shield again and continuing her charge. Since it was originally a sword there was no handle to hold onto on the protected side and the armored girl had to hold onto the handle of the sword and supported it with her shoulder.

We gasped in shock as after each footstep the earth rose on either side of her and curled to form partial arches above us, protecting us from the fire to the sides as we began to move into the burning trees. It seemed to follow our movement, collapsing soon after we passed.

Isabella didn't change course at all during her charge, smashing through anything in her way. I could see that each impact seemed to just bounce off the girl as she ran, making me wonder if she was even mortal.

Another thing I'm wondering. Why aren't we choking on ash?

"Hey, stop!" Nix called out from the rear, coming to a halt. We had only made partial way through the fire. Isabella came to a grinding halt, looking back at the cat faunus. "There's someone over there!" She pointed to something past a few burning trees and bushes. I would have mistaken it for a log if it hadn't shifted at the last moment.

"I can't extend our clean air that far out!" Sarah shouted. It was then that I remembered her unusual semblance, **Nature's Blessing**. She could purify water and air, relieve pain and heal wounds, and could literally talk with plants and animals. Why would I forgot something like that now?

"I'll get him." Lucas said, running past us. He jumped over a burning bush and narrowly dodged falling burning branches. We watched as he scooped up the body and slung it over his shoulder before turning to run back to us. He was cut off half way as a tree fell, blocking his path with fire.

"Brother!" Sarah screamed in horror, reaching her hand out as if she could grab him.

"I'll get the idiot." Nix said, suddenly disappearing into thin air. Before we could question where she went she reappeared with a coughing Lucas and the figure slump over his shoulder. Now that I was close up I could see the figure had a small petite frame much like that of a child's and wore a tarnish brown coat that covered the whole body. "Let's get moving, now." She said in a commanding tone, making sure to let us know that it wasn't a suggestion. Deciding it wasn't the time to question her, we continued on.

We eventually came to a river where the fire couldn't spread to the other side and crossed. Just in time too, as airships started to fly in and dump water on the forest in an attempt to control the flames.

"I am going to need to check off some things on my bucket list." I said, flopping down on the ground. The others sat down, exhausted from their run. "Survive a forest fire with no escape route, check. Save someone from a fire, check. Play with man eater puppies, check. Get hit by a meteorite, close enough." I looked over to Lucas. "How's he doing?"

"It's a she, actually." Lucas replied, remove the coat and putting his ear close to her mouth to check her breathing. "Her breath is ragged but her heartbeat seems to be fine." He sat up and look back at us and opened his mouth, only for no words to come out. Instead he pointed behind us, one hand slowly reaching for his rifle. We slowly turned our heads.

There were so many of them, it's hard to believe we didn't notice them even if we were exhausted from our sprint. There were beowolves, alphas too. There were both major and minor Ursa. There were two King taijitus and three death stalkers, their massive figures standing out in the crowd. There was even a nethermore. And they all stood there, waiting.

We slowly got to our feet and drew our respective weapons, taking a step back towards the river. The crowd of Grimm shifted and we froze, tensing for a fight. But still none of them attacked.

Finally the Grimm up front shifted to the sides and let a rather large alpha beowolf pass. The beowolf stood on its hind legs and held itself like a man, glaring down at us. The beast stood at just over nine feet tall and was probably as dangerous as it looked. Was it my imagination, or is he seeming to focus mainly on me?

"Fennnrrrriiiiiirrrrrrrrr." The beowolf growled, causing all of us to flinch. The beowolf pointed a clawed finger at me ."We thought that your kind had finally died out to the Paladins."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, taking a step up. As it seemed that the Grimm were focused on me, if I transformed I might be able to buy the others time to get over the river. It would then be easier for me to make my escape on my own. Seeing what I was doing, Lucas silently spread the word and they began to back away from the legion of Grimm.

"You don't know?" The beowolf said thoughtfully, sizing me up. There was an unsettling feel to those eyes, as if the beowolf knew more about me than even I did. "Then you are no threat to us. We should just kill you now while we have the chance." His eyes drifted across the others, settling on Nix. "It's been a while since I've eaten cat."

I snapped. "Like hell I'd let you hurt them." I growled, my voice growing deeper after each syllable. I lunged at the alpha, my arm already transformed. However, instead of piercing through the Grimm and tearing him to shreds, my claws simply bounced off him.

The wolf laughed and swatted me away, taking out the last of my already depleted aura and leaving a ragged cut on my side. "So you know of your gift but not of your heritage." It said with a throaty laugh. "Oh, the irony. It would be a shame to kill you now, and I get the feeling I wouldn't be able to if I wanted to." The Grimm's face contorted into a wolffish smile. "I'll see you again, Fenrir. Kill on, traitor." The beowolf howled into the air and the legion of Grimm retreated into the forest, the last of them disappearing into the shadows just as three combat outfitted airships passed over head following after them.

"Okay, I'll be the first to speak." Lucas said, watching the airships go. "What the fuck?"

"No clue." I said, my arms already back to normal.

"You told me your name was Kyle, right?" Isabella asked. "Why did he call you Fenrir?"

"I don't know that either. It's new to me too." I answered, feeling a little light headed. "But you know, was it always so bright out here?" The next thing I knew, that damn rhinoceros farted a rainbow and I fainted.

 **Aaaaannnnnnddddddd... Cliffhanger! Oh, how your all going to hate me for this, but I have to leave it here.**

 **No you don't. You just want to keep them reading.**

 **Ezra! What the hell are you doing? This isn't even your story!**

 ** _I'm here too._**

 **Oh, Echo. Are you starting this now too?**

 ** _I'm bored._**

 **So the fox girl can talk and I can't?**

 **Ugh. You two aren't even related and you two act like siblings. Get out of here so I can do my authors note.**

 **Fine** **.**

 ** _Fine_** **.**

 **Okay, their gone. Voices in the head, something all authors go through. So anyway, about the chapter.**

 **First off, we have the subject of Isabella. Before anyone even considers thinking it, Isabella is not going out with Kyle. Ever. Unless I want to screw around a bit, then some "accidents" could happen. Evil laughter.**

 **Second off, am I the only person who wondered why the forest didn't completely burn down from Weiss's attack? I Decided to use that for part of the chapter as an excuse to show off my characters semblances. Nothing major. And did you see those ruins? Ever get the feeling they were important at one point of time?**

 **We have Kyle Fenrir, as I'm pretty sure you've all guessed. And if you didn't, shame on you! I pretty much gave him beowolf arms, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. I have much, much more hidden from you guys. All will be revealed in due time, my friends.**

 **Then we have Sarah. I know I've tipped the scales in her favor a lot, but you haven't learned what I know yet. The only homeless humans of the group, and the sister has all the abilities of a nature goddess. Coincidence? Probably. Hehehehe.**

 **Next up, Nix. I actually started writing my own book before I started fanfiction, and Nix happens to be one of those characters. I based her semblance off of the one I used in my first story (was highly rated considering all the spelling and grammar mistakes, not to mention simple thinking. I plan to rewrite it later, maybe in a few years. Lol) and off of Vincent's from a personal favorite of mine, the misadventures of a sleepy hunter. The author a casualty of life, and hasn't updated for years.**

 **And then there's Lucas. I'm not telling you a thing, muwhahahahahahah!**

 **Unconscious girl. No clue, I haven't decided yet. If anyone has seen danmachi, or is it wrong to pick up girls in a dungeon? As its called in English, she looks exactly like Lily. Now to figure out what kind of faunus would fit adorable little Lil, and I'm open for suggestions. Seriously, I need help.**

 **And last but not least, Isabella Freelance! This mix of innocent lovely girl, a spartan II right out of halo, and the hulk is a force to be reckoned with! Not only is she a walking tank, she has the ability to control the earth itself. I have a lot planned for this character, and she will play a really important role in the future. Overpowered? No, no, not at all. This will be fun... Hehehe.**

 **Okay, teasers aside, there is one last thing that I must address. The talking, invincible beowolf. This guy is also reused, but he's from a story that only I know. We authors don't just think "hey, I want to do this" and start writing. We first have to have a dream, a fantasy in place. You could say he's my original bad guy. He's also one of my oldest friends.**

 **Now, I wonder what I'm going to do next. No seriously, I don't got a clue other than I have to have Kyle finally meet with Ruby. Tune in next time for my mad ravings- I mean, the next part of Kyle's saga!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey mom, it's me."

"..."

"Yes I'm fine. Just calling to report that I passed the initiation."

"..."

"Five beowolves and two Ursa Major."

"..."

"With ease, but that's not what I called to talk about. I may have found a Fenrir."

"..."

"He's a male, same age as me. We ended up on the same team."

"..."

"I crashed into him and knocked him out of the sky. I didn't know anything until a talking beowolf identified him and called him 'traitor'. How do I proceed?"

"..."

"Understood. I'll continue surveillance until you come to a decision."

"..."

"Yes commander. Isabella out."

* * *

I woke up in a white hospital bed in the infirmary, a blanket pulled over my legs and waist. Blinking, I sat up and rubbed my eyes. How did I get here? I wondered, opening my eyes with a struggle as the blinding sunlight shone in through the window.

"Ah, you're awake!" A voice said from in front of the window, a shadow moving into the light.

 _I recognize that voice_. "Isabella?" I asked, my eyes adjusting quickly. Sure enough, there stood my partner still in full armor. "What happened?" I asked her.

"You fainted from blood loss after you took a hit from that large beowolf." Isabella explained, kneeling next to the bed so her eyes were level with mine. "They airlifted you out and gave you aura supplements to get you stable."

"What about the initiation?" I asked worriedly. "Am I...?" Isabella smiled comfortingly and put a hand on my arm.

"You don't have to worry about that." She told me. "After they lifted you two away we continued on and picked up our relics. The team naming ceremony is going on as we speak."

"Two?" I asked, processing her words slower than normal since I had just gotten up. I then remembered the unconscious girl from the fire. And then I finally realized what the second half of her sentence meant. "Wait, what? If it's going on right now why didn't you wake me?"

"I tried." Isabella replied. "You're just a very heavy sleeper. I even set off a small explosion next to you and you didn't notice." She patted the more than slightly charred bedside table, causing the center of the blackened circle to fall to the ground. "Anyway, let's ignore that for now. Our team was moved to near the end of the list while we tried to wake you up. We should go meet up with Lucas and Lilly." I notice her slipping a shiny yellow crystal behind her back and decided not to mention it.

I swung my legs of the bed, getting to my feet without any trouble. This was a good sign since I had lost enough blood to faint. I absentmindedly touched my side, remembering the feeling of a claw ripping through my flesh. "I have to ask you something." I told Isabella, tracing where the scar should be. "Did we really meet a massive talking beowolf?"

"Indeed." Isabella answered in monotone. I glanced at her to find her suddenly studying me, her eyes unnervingly lacking that sunshine that always occupied them. Before I could fully register that look it disappeared, being replaced by her normal warm smile and ditzy demeanor. "Anyway, we should get going. I think I remember the way to the auditorium." Isabella announced, skipping through the room and out the door.

"You think?" I called out, following close behind. I walked with her through the halls, ignoring their impressive design when I passed. I assumed it was only this way for the main building, since the polished lament floors and pillar archways probably weren't present for the dorms.

As it turns out and I say this ironically, it only took five wrong turns to get to the auditorium. When we came in through the doors (I opened them first before Isabella could bash them down and make a grand entrance) Ozpin was just finishing assembling another team.

"-Belladonna, and Yang Xiao-Long. The four of you retrieved the white night pieces, and from hence forth you will now be known as team RWBY. Led by," he paused for some odd reason. "Ruby Rose."

I recognized that smiling gleeful face and red hood from the back of the room and knew that it was little Red who had been made leader. I felt pride swell in my chest for the girl, happy for her. Heh, I guess I can't call her little anymore, can I?

"Come on, let's go." Isabella said, dragging me along by my arm. She led me to where Lucas and the girl in the coat who I assume was Lily was near the back. Lucas nodded at me, acknowledging my presence before returning his attention to Ozpin.

"Now for our last teams." Ozpin announced, his eyes scanning the crowed and stopping momentarily on us before continuing. "Kitsune Veritas, Arden Cross, Nix River, and Sarah Cain. The four of you retrieved the white queen pieces, and from hence forth you will now be known as team VARS (pronounced Varus.) Led by." Ozpin paused again. "Kitsune Veritas." Kitsune, a rather beautiful fox faunus with orange hair and brilliant emerald eyes, bowed her head to the headmaster before straitening up with a faint hint of pride on her face.

"Hey Isabella, what's our team name?" I asked, leaning closer to her and whispering in her ear.

"Don't know, we're next." She whispered back. "Didn't I tell you we were at the end in the infirmary?" Sure enough, soon after she said that some very familiar (sort of) names were being called out by the headmaster.

"Kyle be creative, Isabella Freelance, Liliruca is this really necessary, and Lucas Cain." There was a lot of laughing and talking as we were called up, the prospect of going up on the stage seemed to become even more unbearable with every step.

"Kyle be creative huh?" Lucas whispered as he walked next to me, a teasing grin on his face. "What an interesting heritage you have, mr creativity."

"Luke, I am your father." I shot back, feeling a little better using his pet peeve against him. Lucas rolled his eyes and picked up the pace. We got onto the stage and lined up in the order we were called with girls in the middle and boys on the outside and faced the previous team. I could tell by the look on the girls were highly amused by my last name. Thankfully the only boy on their team didn't really seem to care about the name, so I felt a little better.

Now that we were all present, Ozpin continued on with his speech. "The four of you retrieved the black king pieces and from hence forth shall be known as team KILL. Led by," he paused again, looking each of us it the eye before stopping on me. "Kyle be creative."

 _Okay, now he's officially making fun of me._ I thought. Ozpin was smirking faintly as he took a sip of his coffee, not even denying the thought. None the less, I stood tall with the new title of leader on my shoulders. Ozpin nodded, apparently pleased with something. He turned back to the rest of the student body, signaling us to go take our seats. After a few more words from the headmaster (I was to busy talking about chess pieces with my partner to actually pay attention to what he was saying) we were dismissed and people began to file out of the room to go their dorm rooms before they had to go to their first class. Lucas and I hung around for team VARS while the girls went on ahead to our room.

"Mr. Creative." And cue the headmaster. Ozpin walked out of the auditorium and quickly located me waiting next to the door. "Hello, mr. Cain. Can I have a quick word with your leader about his stay in the infirmary?" Lucas was confused but nodded, letting his friend be steered off by the headmaster. Once out of earshot, Ozpin spoke up. "In three days, take the second airship into Vale." He said cryptically.

I scowled, confused on the directions. "Why?" I asked.

"Don't ask questions, this isn't a safe place to talk." Ozpin replied, turning his back to me and walking away. I watched him for a few seconds and shook my head, not getting what was going on. I pushed it to the side and went to join Lucas and team VARS who were waiting for me a short distance away.

"What did he want?" Lucas asked.

"Just told me to take it easy." I replied, skirting around the subject. At least three of them could tell I was avoiding the question but the didn't bring it up. "By the way, why are you carrying him like that?" I asked. Kitsune was carrying a limp Arden over her shoulder, the question of if he was knocked out by force coming to mind.

"It's my luggage." The fox faunus replied, the situation apparently normal to her. "Besides, it's hard to wake this guy up when he wants to sleep. Watch." To show her point, she dropped the poor guy on his head. I winched as his body crumpled, sympathy pain welling up in the back of my skull. The only response the teen gave was a quite snore. "See? Out like a rock."

"Is he okay? He's been unconscious most of the day." Sarah said, crouching down next to the teen and checking his pulse. I felt that he might not be in the best shape too when I heard that. His he wore a brown jacket and jeans that seemed battered and worn, making him look smaller than he actually was. He wore a pair of glasses on his face that obscured his eyes from view and his face was neutral, almost as if he was just laying there looking at the ceiling. All in all, he looked dead.

"He's fine, he does this all the time." Kitsune replied, waving off her concerns and picking up the boy again with ease. Like Sarah she was already wearing her school uniform with the addition of black leggings, her orange hair in a ponytail. In comparison, Nix looked off set in full black leather armor and more knives than most people knew what to do with. Her hood was down, revealing her raven colored hair and cat ears for all to see.

Lucas noticed my gaze and elbowed my shoulder friendlily. "Checking out potential mates, huh? Finally taking interesting in my sis?" The next thing he knew he was letting out a startled yell as I spun past his arm, wedged my shoulder in his armpit and grasped a hold of his arm, and leaned forward in a swift motion throwing him over my shoulder and slamming him hard into the ground. Lucas rolled to his side and starting to gasp for breath, all the air in his lungs being knocked out by the hit. "Okay, I get it." He coughed and tried to get up. "You think my sis is ugly." My knee impacted with his chin and sent him strait up into the air, making him hang in the air about an inch above the ground before my elbow impacted with his chest. Lucas managed to land on his feet, much to my surprise, but was immediately sent flying by a round house kick to the side of the head.

"Any more puns?" I asked, picking him up and putting him on his feet.

"Since I've been hit by you for real before." Lucas said, a little battered from my attacks. "I'm going to say that was about twenty percent of your real strength." I just shrugged and he shook his head. "You always get annoyed when I tease you about girls. Does this have anything to do with little Red by any chance?" I remained silent, ignoring the question. Lucas sighed. "Geez man, you were serious when you said you believed you owe her a life debt."

"That was an interesting combination of fighting styles." Kitsune commented, looking me over. I got a faint sense of foreboding and imagined my limp body hanging over her other shoulder and shuddered. "Where did you learn to fight?"

"I learned to fight before I could remember." I admitted. "I just adapted my style out of what worked from styles I know about. It consists of mostly judo, taekwondo, and street fighting."

"I see." Kitsune said thoughtfully. "I have a friend who fights with martial arts too. I thing that you two would get along well."

"Umm, hate to bring this to attention, but we don't have long to set up our rooms before class." Lucas said, interrupting their conversation. I stole his arm to check his watch since I never actually had one myself and noticed we had spent the last eight minutes talking.

"Heheh. I guess we should go meet up with our own team shouldn't we?" I scratched the back of my head, embarrassed as to what I'm about to admit. "And our room number is...?"

Lucas slammed his fist into his palm, realizing that I didn't know the room number. "Oh yeah, you were unconscious at the time. I would have thought that Isabella would have told you."

"No, she didn't. She's kind of a ditz." He laughed and clapped me on the shoulder.

"You have no idea." Lucas told me, making me wonder what I missed while unconscious. We bid farewell to the girls and left. Kitsune grabbed one of Arden's hands and waved at us as we left, the boy giving no complaints.

"Are we sure that Arden's alright?" I asked as we turned the corner and made our way towards the dorms.

"No clue." Lucas replied. He turned to the left and started up a staircase. "Third floor, room 305. It will be the only one with an Isabella shaped doorway." It was a joke, but there was still a chance that it was true. I mean, this is Isabella we're talking about.

I was the first one to enter the room, loudly announcing my presence to my team-

Then I was narrowly dodging quick, sharp stabs from a little girl with a double blade (basically two swords that share the same handle) who also happened to be mostly naked.

"Hey!" I shouted, jumping to the side as she stabbed at my gut. "Whoa!" Jump over a low sweeping slash. "Are you trying to kill me!?" Caught a slash with the back side of my gauntlet, only to have to jump back as the other blade made a swipe at me.

"Get out, get out, get out, get out!" She screamed, swinging at me with each "get out".

"Hey hey Lily, enough of that." Isabella said good-naturedly. She was dressed a little better, wearing a tee shirt and panties. She grabbed a hold of Liliruca's arm with one hand and pulled the weapon out of her hands. "We can't kill the leader on the first day."

"But this is the girls room! They have no business in here, especially when we're changing!" She glared at Isabella and tried to grab her weapon that was being held out of her reach.

"It's one room per team, Lilly." Lucas said, guiding himself along the wall with his hand while he used the other to cover up his eyes. "Don't mind me, just going to hide in the bathroom until your done." His face was bright red, almost stoplight red. "Hey Kyle, am I going the right way?"

"Yeah about seven feet forward and three to the right." I told him. "Here, I'll help you. You don't mind if I join him, do you girls?"

"Why are you guys hiding?" Isabella asked, ignoring Lilly as she tried to clim up her side.

"Don't you feel exposed?" I asked, pointing at her clothes. _Damn, her boobs are bigger than I thought._

"Why would I feel exposed? Isn't this normal attire for lounging around?" Isabella asked, genuinely confused.

"Maybe if you live alone, but not when you live with other people. It's considered indecent." I explained. Isabella just cocked her head to the side and I let out a sigh of exasperation. "Okay, new rule. Don't walk around like that."

"Yes sir!" Isabella snapped to and saluted, causing Lilly to fall down. I watched with a bit of amusement (and a bit of perv) as the smaller girl strained to pry the her weapon from from the titan's grip.

"Okay, I'll be waiting with Lucas. Tell us when your done." I made my way quickly to the bathroom, sensing that a much more embarrassed girl would soon have her weapon back. "Oh, and another rule. No trying to kill people in the dorm room." I told Isabella before closing and locking the door.

"So when's our execution?" Lucas asked. He was already halfway finished with changing into school uniform and was slipping on his shirt.

"I'd say our survival rate will be high as long as Isabella's around." I replied. Dropped my backpack full of everything I owned on the ground and started digging through it for my uniform. "Got to wonder what perverts raised her to think that outfits socially acceptable." I found the uniform crumpled and slightly damaged. "I'm going to borrow the shower real quick."

"Not stopping you." Lucas said with a wave. I closed the curtain and changed quickly, finding with pleasure that it fit perfectly. The struggle came when I tried to put on the tie, almost hanging myself before I simply tossed the damned piece of cloth in the trash.

When the knock on the door came we opened the door cautiously, checking to make sure nobody was nude when we exited. Both girls were fully clothed this time, much to our relief. Isabella had set up an amor stand next to the second bed from the door and had claimed that space as her own. I spared a look at Lilly to find her glaring intensely at me from her bed closest to the door and walked over to the bed farthest from her and dropped my bag on top of it. Even now I could tell this was going to be a rocky relationship.

* * *

 **Hey guys, it's the author. School is officially ending and this is the last time I can use my iPad to type for the next three months since I'm turning it in in two days. Just a warning since I won't be able to update too often from here on out.**

 **And to the real Kyle, I'd like to say one thing. Hell, I don't know if you're still reading this since your avoiding me. I'm not mad, I just want to tell you one last piece of advice. Don't screw this one up, boy toy.**


	4. Chapter 4

_Flames engulfed the building a little boy once called home, illuminating the earth in an orange light. The bodies of his parents laid on the ground in front of him, their hands gripping tightly to their weapons even as the blood from their dead bodies slowly spilled out in a great pool of crimson. Men and women in heavy armor glared down on the boy with weapons in hand, determined to end what they had started. All of them were human._

 _The boy growled at the men as he stood in a puddle of blood, a claymore held in his hands. Four bodies surrounded him, each one having fallen in battle already._

 _"Why!?" He screamed at the humans like a wounded animal. "What did we do!?"_

 _One of the men stepped forward, a lance in one hand and a heavy shield in the other. "It's not what you've done." He said in a deep, rich voice. "It's what you will do. In order for humanity to survive, you shall die." He and five more advanced, forming a ring around the boy. The child was no more than eight, yet as they've seen he was extremely dangerous._

 _The boy howled with rage, his vision going red. The sword fell from his hands as he threw his arms out to the sides and howled to the sky, the sound becoming more animalistic as it went on. His arms became more muscular and hairy, his fingers extending in length and his fingernails sharpend, becoming claws. His legs went through the same changes, his feet the same as the hands. His torso became more hunched, a lighter coat of fur growing on his chest than on his back. His head became more like that of a wolf's, his teeth becoming sharper and more jagged. His eyes glowed red, the madness taking over his mind. White spines started to sprout of his arms and legs while white bone-like plating forming on his head and the back of his neck. When the transformation was done the boy resembled an alpha beowolf._

 _The man who had spoken scowled and squared his shield in front of himself. "This ones a higher ranking than his parents. be careful."_

 _"You..." The wolf growled. "You will pay. I was holding back... but now that their dead there's no point on playing nice. You will pay.. You will pay... YOU WILL PAY!"_

 _The wolf charged at one of the men, screaming, determined to rip them each limb from limb. The man he charged at swung his battle axe, staring wide eyed as the metal bounced off of the wolf's fur as if it were made of paper. The wolf leapt on the man and started to rip at him, metal and bone flying from his prey's body. The man didn't even have time to scream before he died._

 _Gunshots rang out in the black of the night as one of the men opened fire, his bullets merely glancing off of his target. The wolf turned from the corpse and glared at the gun man, causing the man to freeze with fear. The man stumbled as he turned to flee, only to be tackled to the ground as the wolf ran, faster than they could track, and pounced on him. He screamed, only to be silenced as the wolf's teeth sunk into his throat. The last three that had stepped up to fight him tried to attack the wolf but their weapons failed, their sharp edges to dull to put a scratch on it's hide. The wolf spun around and snarled before he slashed at them. They attempted to dodge back but the wolf gave chase, slashing out with his claws viciously. One of the men tried to block with his sword only for the weapon to be torn from his grip. A second slash dug deep into waist and he fell to the ground. The wolf stopped for a second and slashed his claws through the man's head._

 _"Retreat!" The man with the lance yelled, turning tail and fleeing. Those that were watching the fight ran, the remaining warrior who had followed him into battle close behind the lance users tail. He didn't make it far, however, when the wolf leapt fifteen feet in the air and landed on him, tearing him to shreds as he screamed. The lance user never looked back._

 _After the man's screams silenced, the wolf staggered off of the body. Only his rage had allowed him to fight for so long, but now overexertion forced the transformation to reverse. "You will... You will pay..." The boy panted as he fell to his knees and watched as the men disappeared into the darkness. Then his body failed him and his vision went black._

 _Kyle Fenrir had lost everything on that blood soaked night._

* * *

"Okay Ozpin, tell me why I'm here." I told the headmaster as I took a seat next to him. The grey haired man didn't answer, taking a sip out of his coffee mug as he stared out the window. I sighed and followed suit, gazing out on the water. we were on the second airship into vale, just as Ozpin had told me to do.

Ozpin didn't talk for the entire trip, only speaking up when we neared Vale. "Follow me and don't ask questions." He ordered. I grumbled internally, getting restless. Why did he have to be so cryptic? He should just spit it out already.

We disembarked the airship when it landed and Ozpin took off at a brisk walk while I followed close behind. Ozpin lead the way through town, seeming to take a random path that winded all throughout the city. At one point I could have sworn we had even walked in a big circle. Eventually Ozpin led me to a small out of the way cafe and ordered himself a coffee before turning to me.

"I don't like coffee." I told him. He raised an eyebrow before ordering me a chocolate shake. We took our drinks to an outdoor table on the second floor.

We sat in silence for a time while we drank our respective brews. Then Ozpin spoke again. "I suppose you want to know why I've dragged you out here." He said, placing his mug on the table.

"That, and why you brought a mug if we were going to a coffee shop." I said. The headmaster chuckled.

"I get away with it because I'm a regular here." He said. Didn't surprise me. "My coffee habits aside, let me get to the point."

"You shouldn't be at Beacon."

"What? Why?" I exclaimed.

Ozpin's calm demeanor didn't falter in the slightest. "It doesn't have anything to do with just you." Ozpin explained. "It has to do with your family. Yes, I knew you're family. They were all brilliant hunters, I'll never forget them."

"Like I'm going to believe something like that." I scoffed. There was no way a whole family could be on Beacon's banned list.

Ozpin sighed, suddenly looking tired. "I know a lot about you Kyle, more than you can guess." He stared into his coffee but his eyes saw something, somewhere else in time. "I know where you where born. I know who your parents were. I know that at the age of five you favored a wooden longsword, though it more of a greatsword for your small size. I know that you carried that sword everywhere you went and that your mother use to call you her little soldier. I know that when you broke your arm your father taught you how to set it, making you treat yourself. I know about the attack ten years ago that took your parents lives and almost took yours."

My eyes narrowed and my body tensed up. "How do you know about that?" I asked, sizing up the man in front of me. In his current state he didn't look like a threat, but I knew that the headmaster of Beacon would hardly be categorized as a push over. "Are you with those people in metal armor?"

"I'm not with the Templars." Ozpin said, meeting my gaze with one as hard as steel. "There goal merely overlaps with mine. But don't mix it for me being one of them."

"And how do I know I can trust you?" I asked, not relaxing in the slightest.

"Because if I was truly a Templar, I would have killed your parents when they were younger and we wouldn't be sitting here right now." Ozpin said. He rubbed his temple as if he had a headache. "I've known your family a long, long time. And in that time, I've been a close friend and ally with the Fenrir ever since I could remember. So in no way do I harbor the only remaining descendant ill will."

"There's that name again. Both you and... whatever that beowolf was called me that. But what does it mean?" My response seemed to confuse Ozpin at first, but somethings dawned on him.

"I guess it makes sense." He said, partly to himself. "You must have been to young to have been told the story." He paused as he thought, trying to figure out where to start. "Have you ever wondered why your body is so much more powerful than a normal person, far beyond even the enhanced abilities of a faunus? Why your parents started to train you just a few months after you could walk to control that strength of yours? It was common place for your family to be rather destructive when their young, so martial arts training was common place. Thought I remember Flint telling me you were rather gifted at it."

"Flint?" I asked.

"Your father." Ozpin answered. "He himself wasn't a Fenrir, but by the way he acted he might as well have been. Him and your mother were one hell of a pair when they were together." He started to look gloomy, even if his face was smiling. "No matter how many times I meet them, I can't help but be friends with them. Every generation, each always fated to end tragically."

"You still haven't told me anything." I said. "Backstory's great and all, but it still doesn't answer anything."

"I guess it doesn't." Ozpin admitted. "I'm just an old man thinking of old times." He smiled nostalgically before continuing with his story. "A long time ago, I met a kind man. The man taught me many things, a lot of them helped change my life and the life of others for the better. But in the end, some people saw the man as a monster instead of a savior. They hunted and killed the man, and continued to hunt and kill his descendants for many years. Eventually they became weak in numbers, their whole family dying out because some people were afraid of what they could do. I helped them the best I could, throwing their pursuers off course. But in the end they were always found, right up to extinction." His voice cracked at the end, a rare tear running down his face. "At least, that's what I had believed until I saw the footage of what happened in the emerald forest three days ago. And I must say, I'm pleased to see at least one of you survived."

I was silent for what felt like eternity as I worked what he said through my head, very few questions actually being answered. It felt as if for every question answered, two more took its place. "So why did you bring me here? You don't strike me as the kind of guy who would call me out for some coffee and a friendly talk."

Ozpin smiled slightly. "I have friends too, you know. But I guess I should just tell it to you now." He fixed me with a more grim look, his tears gone. "The Templars still hunt for you. And now they are closer than ever."

"And how do you know this?" I asked.

"Because your partner is a Templar." Ozpin replied. "And if I'm guessing right, she already reported what that beowolf called you." I fell silent, understanding the weight of what he had just said. Ozpin took another sip from his drink before he continued. "This is why I called you all the way out here away from her ears. I'm warning you now, its in your best interest to leave Beacon."

"Absolutely not." I said immediately. I got to my feet, knocking my chair over in the process. "If these Templars want me so bad, their going to have to kill me. Until then, I have my reasons for staying at Beacon and I'll be damned if I back out now."

I was surprised when Ozpin started laughing, the gloomy attitude that hung about him evaporating. "Just like Fenrir. I swear, your a spitting image of your ancestor. Doesn't care for his own safety and goes about his business without a care. That man did things I couldn't even dream of at the time, all while fending off those who didn't support him as if it was nothing." He chuckled and took a sip of his coffee before getting serious again. "I know why he fought though. So I have to ask, why do you want to become a hunter?

"Because it's what I was born to do." I replied immediately. "I don't know why, but I'm compelled to protect others who can't protect themselves. But there's more than that. I lost my home and family at a young age, and I managed to get another one. I know that second chances don't come easy, so I am determined to protect them. Their important to me, more important than anything else. I was raised by my parents, but I matured with these people. There is no one in the world that can replace them, and as long as I'm around nobody is going to touch them. Lucas, Nix, Sarah, Connor, Bruce, Kaze, and Brian. We are all nobodies, but we won't stay that way forever. One day we will emerge from the shadows of a dying society and we _will_ become more than just garbage. And when we're done, we will be hunters."

"So in other words, you guys aspire to become top rated hunters because you don't like to live as garbage?" Ozpin asked, summarizing my speech.

"Eh, I just made all of that up." I replied. "We all have different reasons, I just wanted to say something inspirational."

"And why do _You_ want to become a hunter?"

"Because I choose to. Everyone has free will, this is just the path I want." I decided to leave out the part about Little Red. Ozpin didn't have to know everything after all.

"That still doesn't the question." Ozpin pointed out. "I could already tell you came on your own accord, but you still hasn't told me the reason for you becoming a hunter."

I shrugged. "I don't know the reason myself. I remember my parents training me when I was young, and them telling stories about great men and women who came before me. That might be the reason, but it doesn't seem right to me. If I would try to pin down a reason, it feels like I was born to do this."

"Hmm." Ozpin took a sip of his coffee, thinking on my answer. "I guess that's one way to put it." he placed his cup down on the table and looked me in the eye. "Is there any chance of you leaving beacon?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Nope." I replied.

* * *

"Captain on deck!" Isabella barked, jumping from her seat on the bed and snapping into a salute.

"At ease Isabella. This isn't the atlas military." I told her. Even in her school uniform, her size made her rather intimidating. She was a whole foot taller than me after all. "Anything happen while I was away?"

"Not really, it was Port's class after all." Lucas replied. He was sitting with his back to me at the desk, his books and papers spread out in front of him. "Hey, did you see Lily on the way up? She went to the bathroom half an hour ago and she still hasn't returned."

"No, I didn't." I replied. Liliruca and I haven't really talked much since I walked in on her changing. She hasn't even been able to look me in the eye without turning red. I'm still not sure if its from anger or embarrassment, probably both. "Has anyone gone to check on her?"

"I'm not going anywhere near her when the situation is potentially hazardous." Lucas replied strongly. "I don't have your dexterity, she would kill me with ease."

I couldn't help but agree that he wouldn't stand a chance at close range. He was the support of the group because he excelled at long ranged combat but was relatively week up close. "Fine. Isabella, come with me. lets go find our scout." Isabella agreed and we left Lucas to the safety of his homework.

We walked down the dorm hall to where the bathroom was at the end, Isabella going in to check while I waited outside. she came out a moment later, shaking her head before I could ask. Figuring she might have gone to another (yes, she does that. I think she **really** doesn't trust me.) after ten minutes and completely searching the dorm bathrooms on all floors we finally found Lily on the ground floor with none other than-

"L-Little Red." I said in surprise. Liliruca was currently walking with a group I've come to know as team RWBY, led by its name sake, Ruby Rose.

"Who?" Ruby asked, causing the blonde in her team to snicker.

"I think he means you, sis." The blonde said with a smile as she pushed the smaller girl forward. Little Red fidgeted with her skirt before she looked me in the eye, trying to hide behind her bangs.

"Oh, ermm..." _Work, tongue, Work!_ "It's good to see you again. I was actually looking form my teammate. So yeah, there she is. I'll just be going..." I turned, bumping into Isabella and nearly falling over.

"Do I know you?" Ruby's words stopped me in my tracks. I remembered that I hadn't introduced myself before jumping out their window with a bunch of stolen food.

"I guess I didn't tell you my name last time." I said sheepishly, which is ironic since lamb is one of my favorite foods. I turned to face her again, scratching the back of my head and giving her one of my wolfish grins. "I'm Kyle. the wolf faunus from back then." She gave me another confused look. "You know, the guy who you and your uncle rescued off of the street and nursed back to health?" Even more confused look. same one who stole half your food and fled in the night while you guys were asleep?" The whole group gave me blank faces, completely silent until...

A left hook from a fiery blonde hit me square in the chin. And let me tell you, it hurt. Isabella stepped forward withe her hand on her weapon, stopping when I signaled her to stand down.

"So you remember?" I asked.

"No. I just felt like punching you since you claim to have stolen from us." Yang replied, shrugging. My heart fell, the knowledge of being forgotten sinking in and dragging me with it into the depths. Ok, it's a bit of an exaggeration, but it still hurt.

"Oh. Okay." I said, trying to keep myself up. It was a good thing she forgot about me since I left such a disgraceful display last time. "Well then, it's nice to.." I was cut off as the girl in the bow's scroll went off.

"I'm a cat, I'm a kitty cat. And I dance dance dance, and I dance dance- CLICK." With hands that moved faster than the eye could see, the girl retrieved her scroll and silenced it. I couldn't help but snicker as the girls started to giggle at the girls reaction. Bow's face started to glow bright red in embarrassment. There's nothing like someone else's displeasure to pull you out of sadness.

"What? Not fond of cats Blake?" Yang teased, poking at the girl.

"No, it's just.. Umm..." Blake stammered. "I just forgot to change the ringtone, alright!?"

"That song went out of style years ago." I said. "Why would you still have it as a ringtone?"

"I'm still a fan of the song." Blake argued, glaring at me. Wasn't quite intimidating with her face still red.

"Okay, okay." I said defensively, taking a step back. _Flames engulfed the building a little boy once called home, illuminating the earth in an orange light. The bodies of his parents laid on the ground in front of him, their hands gripping tightly to their weapons even as the blood from their dead bodies slowly spread out in a great pool. Men and women in heavy armor glared down on him with weapons in hand, determined to end what they had started. All of them were human._

 _The boy growled at the men as he stood in a puddle of blood, a claymore held in his hands. Four bodies surrounded him, each one having fallen in battle already. "Why!?" He screamed at the humans like a wounded animal. "What did we do!?"_

 _One of the men stepped forward, a lance in one hand and a heavy shield in the other. "It's not what you've done." He said in a deep, rich voice. "It's what you will do. In order for humanity to survive, you shall die." He and five more advanced, forming a ring around the boy. The child was no more than eight, yet as they've seen he was extremely dangerous._

 _The boy howled with rage, his vision going red. The sword fell from his hands as he threw his arms out to the sides and howled to the sky, becoming more animalistic as it went on. His arms became more muscular and hairy, his fingers extending in length and his fingernails becoming claws. His legs went through the same changes, his feet the same as the hands. His torso became more hunched, a lighter coat of fur growing on his chest than on his back. His head became more like that of a wolfs, his teeth becoming sharper and more jagged. His eyes glowed red, the madness taking over his mind. White spines started to sprout of his arms and legs while white bone like plating forming on his head and the back of his neck. When the transformation was done the boy resembled an alpha beowolf._

 _The man who had spoken scowled and squared his shield in front of himself. "This ones a higher ranking than his parents be careful."_

 _"You..." The wolf growled. "You will pay. I was holding back... but now that their dead there's no point on playing nice. You will pay.. You will pay... YOU WILL PAY!" The wolf charged at one of the men screaming, determined to rip them limb from limb. The man he charged at swung his battle axe, staring wide eyed as the metal bounced off of the wolf's fur as if it were made of paper. The wolf leapt on the man and started to rip at him, metal and bone flying from his preys body. The man didn't even have time to scream before he died. Gunshots rang out in the black as one of the men opened fire, his bullets bouncing of of his target. The wolf turned from the corpse and glared at the gun man, causing the man to freeze with fear. The man stumbled as he turned to flee, only to be knocked to the ground as the wolf ran faster than they could track and jumped on him. He screamed, only to be silenced as the wolf's teeth ripped into his neck. The last three that had stepped up to fight him tried to attack the wolf but their weapons failed to even scratch it. The wolf spun around and snarled before he slashed at them. The attempted to dodge back and the wolf gave chase, slashing out with his claws viciously. One of the men tried to block with his sword only for the weapon to be ripped from his grip. A second slash dug deep into waist and he fell to the ground. The wolf stopped for a second and slashed his claws through the man's head._

 _"Retreat!" The man with the lance yelled, turning tail and fleeing. Those that were watching the fight ran, the remaining warrior who had followed him into battle close behind the lance users tail. He didn't make it far, however, when the wolf leapt fifteen feet in the air and landed on him, tearing him to shreds as he screamed. The lance user never looked back._

 _After the man's screams silenced, the wolf staggered off of the body. Only his rage had allowed him to fight for so long, but now over exertion forced the transformation to reverse. "You will... You will pay..." The boy panted as he fell to his knees and watched as the men disappeared into the darkness. Then his body failed him and his vision went black._

 _And with that, Kyle Fenrir had lost everything._

* * *

"Okay Ozpin, tell me why I'm here." I told the headmaster as I sat next to him. The grey haired man didn't answer, taking a sip out of his coffee mug as he watched out the window. I sighed and followed suit, gazing out on the water. we were on the second airship into vale, just as Ozpin had told me to do.

Ozpin didn't talk for the entire trip, only speaking up when we neared Vale. "Follow me and don't ask questions." He ordered. I grumbled internally, getting restless. Why did he have to be so cryptic? He should just spit it out already.

We disembarked the airship when it landed and Ozpin took off at a brisk walk while I followed close behind. Ozpin lead the way through town, seeming to take a random path that winded all throughout the city. At one point I could have sworn we had even walked in a big circle. Eventually Ozpin led me to a small out of the way cafe and ordered himself a coffee before turning to me. "I don't like coffee." I told him. He raised an eyebrow before ordering me a chocolate shake. We took our drinks to an outdoor table on the second floor.

We sat in silence for a time while we drank our respective brews. Then Ozpin spoke again. "I suppose you want to know why I've dragged you out here." He said, placing his mug on the table.

"That, and why you brought a mug if we were going to a coffee shop." I said. The headmaster chuckled.

"I get away with it because I'm a regular here." He said. Didn't surprise me. "My coffee habits aside, let me get to the point."

"You shouldn't be at Beacon."

"What? Why?" I exclaimed.

Ozpin's calm demeanor didn't falter in the slightest. "It doesn't have anything to do with just you." Ozpin explained. "It has to do with your family. Yes, I knew you're family. They were all brilliant hunters, I'll never forget them."

"Like I'm going to believe something like that." I scoffed. There was no way a whole family could be on Beacon's banned list.

Ozpin sighed, suddenly looking tired. "I know a lot about you Kyle, more than you can guess." He stared into his coffee but his eyes saw something, somewhere else in time. "I know where you where born. I know who your parents were. I know that at the age of five you favored a wooden longsword, though it more of a greatsword for your small size. I know that you carried that sword everywhere you went and that your mother use to call you her little soldier. I know that when you broke your arm your father taught you how to set it, making you treat yourself. I know about the attack ten years ago that took your parents lives and almost took yours."

My eyes narrowed and my body tensed up. "How do you know about that?" I asked, sizing up the man in front of me. In his current state he didn't look like a threat, but I knew that the headmaster of Beacon would hardly be categorized as a push over. "Are you with those people in metal armor?"

"I'm not with the Templars." Ozpin said, meeting my gaze with one as hard as steel. "There goal merely overlaps with mine. But don't mix it for me being one of them."

"And how do I know I can trust you?" I asked, not relaxing in the slightest.

"Because if I was truly a Templar, I would have killed your parents when they were younger and we wouldn't be sitting here right now." Ozpin said. He rubbed his temple as if he had a headache. "I've known your family a long, long time. And in that time, I've been a close friend and ally with the Fenrir ever since I could remember. So in no way do I harbor the only remaining descendant ill will."

"There's that name again. Both you and... whatever that beowolf was called me that. But what does it mean?" My response seemed to confuse Ozpin at first, but somethings dawned on him.

"I guess it makes sense." He said, partly to himself. "You must have been to young to have been told the story." He paused as he thought, trying to figure out where to start. "Have you ever wondered why your body is so much more powerful than a normal person, far beyond even the enhanced abilities of a faunus? Why your parents started to train you just a few months after you could walk to control that strength of yours? It was common place for your family to be rather destructive when their young, so martial arts training was common place. Thought I remember Flint telling me you were rather gifted at it."

"Flint?" I asked.

"Your father." Ozpin answered. "He himself wasn't a Fenrir, but by the way he acted he might as well have been. Him and your mother were one hell of a pair when they were together." He started to look gloomy, even if his face was smiling. "No matter how many times I meet them, I can't help but be friends with them. Every generation, each always fated to end tragically."

"You still haven't told me anything." I said. "Backstory's great and all, but it still doesn't answer anything."

"I guess it doesn't." Ozpin admitted. "I'm just an old man thinking of old times." He smiled nostalgically before continuing with his story. "A long time ago, I met a kind man. The man taught me many things, a lot of them helped change my life and the life of others for the better. But in the end, some people saw the man as a monster instead of a savior. They hunted and killed the man, and continued to hunt and kill his descendants for many years. Eventually they became weak in numbers, their whole family dying out because some people were afraid of what they could do. I helped them the best I could, throwing their pursuers off course. But in the end they were always found, right up to extinction." His voice cracked at the end, a rare tear running down his face. "At least, that's what I had believed until I saw the footage of what happened in the emerald forest three days ago. And I must say, I'm pleased to see at least one of you survived."

I was silent for what felt like eternity as I worked what he said through my head, very few questions actually being answered. It felt as if for every question answered, two more took its place. "So why did you bring me here? You don't strike me as the kind of guy who would call me out for some coffee and a friendly talk."

Ozpin smiled slightly. "I have friends too, you know. But I guess I should just tell it to you now." He fixed me with a more grim look, his tears gone. "The Templars still hunt for you. And now they are closer than ever."

"And how do you know this?" I asked.

"Because your partner is a Templar." Ozpin replied. "And if I'm guessing right, she already reported what that beowolf called you." I fell silent, understanding the weight of what he had just said. Ozpin took another sip from his drink before he continued. "This is why I called you all the way out here away from her ears. I'm warning you now, its in your best interest to leave Beacon."

"Absolutely not." I said immediately. I got to my feet, knocking my chair over in the process. "If these Templars want me so bad, their going to have to kill me. Until then, I have my reasons for staying at Beacon and I'll be damned if I back out now."

I was surprised when Ozpin started laughing, the gloomy attitude that hung about him evaporating. "Just like Fenrir. I swear, your a spitting image of your ancestor. Doesn't care for his own safety and goes about his business without a care. That man did things I couldn't even dream of at the time, all while fending off those who didn't support him as if it was nothing." He chuckled and took a sip of his coffee before getting serious again. "I know why he fought though. So I have to ask, why do you want to become a hunter?

"Because it's what I was born to do." I replied immediately. "I don't know why, but I'm compelled to protect others who can't protect themselves. But there's more than that. I lost my home and family at a young age, and I managed to get another one. I know that second chances don't come easy, so I am determined to protect them. Their important to me, more important than anything else. I was raised by my parents, but I matured with these people. There is no one in the world that can replace them, and as long as I'm around nobody is going to touch them. Lucas, Nix, Sarah, Connor, Bruce, Kaze, and Brian. We are all nobodies, but we won't stay that way forever. One day we will emerge from the shadows of a dying society and we _will_ become more than just garbage. And when we're done, we will be hunters."

"So in other words, you guys aspire to become top rated hunters because you don't like to live as garbage?" Ozpin asked, summarizing my speech.

"Eh, I just made all of that up." I replied. "We all have different reasons, I just wanted to say something inspirational."

"And why do _You_ want to become a hunter?"

"Because I choose to. Everyone has free will, this is just the path I want." I decided to leave out the part about Little Red. Ozpin didn't have to know everything after all.

"That still doesn't the question." Ozpin pointed out. "I could already tell you came on your own accord, but you still hasn't told me the reason for you becoming a hunter."

I shrugged. "I don't know the reason myself. I remember my parents training me when I was young, and them telling stories about great men and women who came before me. That might be the reason, but it doesn't seem right to me. If I would try to pin down a reason, it feels like I was born to do this."

"Hmm." Ozpin took a sip of his coffee, thinking on my answer. "I guess that's one way to put it." he placed his cup down on the table and looked me in the eye. "Is there any chance of you leaving beacon?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Nope." I replied.

* * *

"Captain on deck!" Isabella barked, jumping from her seat on the bed and snapping into a salute.

"At ease Isabella. This isn't the atlas military." I told her. Even in her school uniform, her size made her rather intimidating. She was a whole foot taller than me after all. "Anything happen while I was away?"

"Not really, it was Port's class after all." Lucas replied. He was sitting with his back to me at the desk, his books and papers spread out in front of him. "Hey, did you see Lily on the way up? She went to the bathroom half an hour ago and she still hasn't returned."

"No, I didn't." I replied. Liliruca and I haven't really talked much since I walked in on her changing. She hasn't even been able to look me in the eye without turning red. I'm still not sure if its from anger or embarrassment, probably both. "Has anyone gone to check on her?"

"I'm not going anywhere near her when the situation is potentially hazardous." Lucas replied strongly. "I don't have your dexterity, she would kill me with ease."

I couldn't help but agree that he wouldn't stand a chance at close range. He was the support of the group because he excelled at long ranged combat but was relatively week up close. "Fine. Isabella, come with me. lets go find our scout." Isabella agreed and we left Lucas to the safe place of his homework.

We walked down the dorm hall to where the bathroom was at the end, Isabella going in to check while I waited outside. she came out a moment later, shaking her head before I could ask. Figuring she might have gone to another (yes, she does that. I think she **really** doesn't trust me.) after ten minutes and completely searching the dorm bathrooms on all floors we finally found Lily on the ground floor with none other than-

"L-Little Red." I said in surprise. Liliruca was currently walking with a group I've come to know as team RWBY, led by its name sake, Ruby Rose.

"Who?" Ruby asked, causing the blonde in her team to snicker.

"I think he means you, sis." The blonde said with a smile as she pushed the smaller girl forward. Little Red fidgeted with her skirt before she looked me in the eye, trying to hide behind her bangs.

"Oh, ermm..." _Work, tongue, Work!_ "It's good to see you again. I was actually looking form my teammate. So yeah, there she is. I'll just be going..." I turned, bumping into Isabella and nearly falling over.

"Do I know you?" Ruby's words stopped me in my tracks. I remembered that I hadn't introduced myself before jumping out their window with a bunch of stolen food.

"I guess I didn't tell you my name last time." I said sheepishly, which is ironic since lamb is one of my favorite foods. I turned to face her again, scratching the back of my head and giving her one of my wolfish grins. "I'm Kyle. the wolf faunus from back then." She gave me another confused look. "You know, they guy who you and your uncle rescued off of the street and nursed back to health?" Still confused. "The same one who stole half your food and fled in the night while you guys were asleep?" The whole group gave me blank faces, completely silent until...

A left hook from a fiery blonde hit me square in the chin. And let me tell you, it hurt. Isabella stepped forward withe her hand on her weapon, stopping when I signaled her to stand down.

"So you remember?" I asked.

"No. I just felt like punching you since you claim to have stolen from us." Yang replied, shrugging. My heart fell, the knowledge of being forgotten sinking in and dragging me with it into the depths. Ok, it's a bit of an exaggeration, but it still hurt.

"Oh. Okay." I said, trying to keep myself up. _It was a good thing she forgot about me since I left such a disgraceful display last time_. "Well then, it's nice to.." I was cut off as the girl in the bow's scroll went off.

"I'm a cat, I'm a kitty cat. And I dance dance dance, and I dance dance- CLICK." With hands that moved faster than the eye could see, the girl retrieved her scroll and silenced it. I couldn't help but snicker as the girls started to giggle at the girls reaction. Bow's face started to glow bright red in embarrassment. There's nothing like someone else's displeasure to pull you out of sadness.

"What? Not fond of cats Blake?" Yang teased, poking at the girl.

"No, it's just.. Umm..." Blake stammered. "I just forgot to change the ringtone, alright!?"

"That song went out of style years ago." I said. "Why would you still have it as a ringtone?"

"I'm still a fan of the song." Blake argued, glaring at me. Wasn't quite intimidating with her face still red.

"Okay, okay." I said defensively, taking a step back. I knew from the last time I crossed a woman that their rather quick on the draw when angered. Speaking of which. "So anyway, we were just checking on Lily. Now that we know where she is, I think I'll just be going now." I turned and started to walk away.

"Okay. Well, see you around Kyle." Ruby called, still confused. I had to make a conscious effort not to start skipping with glee.

 _She said my name! She said my name! She said my-_ "You know where going in the wrong direction, right?" Isabella's whisper cut off my internal singing.

"Keep walking. We totally did this on purpose." I whispered back. Our little scenic route ended up taking us almost ten minutes to get back to our room.

 **Yo! Schools back in session and I can write again! Now, there might be a few changes in my posting speed, but it won't be much. Number one- I got a job. Number two- I got a girlfriend, and she's quite the beauty.**

 **Ok, enough about me. The story's back! You can thank Xera Stark for helping me look over and edit the chapter. I'd go check him out guys, he's got even better work than I do.**

 **Hope you enjoyed this long awaited chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

_"So, do you believe me now, Ozpin?"_

 _"Yes sir. He truly has the aura of his bloodline. The Fenrir are still alive and well."_

 _"Alive, yes. But he is the last of his line, the final member of his family."_

 _"Does that mean..?"_

 _"Yes. That means he possesses the Ragnorok."_

 _"But Oum, if he truly possesses the power of the end, what does it mean for us? What will happen to those he interacts with?"_

 _"They could be destroyed. Or, they could be saved. When Fenrir pledged his bloodline to the protection of civilization, he inadvertently set a curse upon his family that stopped them from hurting people. They were compelled to protect them, serving as the first hunters. But all things have an opposite. Ragnorok is the end. It is the end of the curse, and also the herald of calamity."_

 _"So the boy is a threat then?"_

 _"He can be. Or, he could be a savior. Ragnorok is merely the end."_

 _"I don't understand."_

 _"And you won't understand. Neither I or Salem have power to influence this boy, making him truly independent of our presence. The boy is the end, but not even I know what he will do. It is truly up to him. So what will you do Ozpin? How will you proceed?"_

* * *

 _Crack Crack Crack!_ I groaned as a low powered electric shock ran throughout my body. It wasn't exactly painful, but it was highly unpleasant. The effect of the stun rounds usually didn't last more than a minute, but they still left a tingling sensation behind afterwards.

"There, the score's even." I looked up at Lucas his gun no longer leveled at me. He leaned down and grasped my hand, pulling me to my feet. We were in the training room getting in a bit more practice before we had combat class tomorrow. If you couldn't tell, I just lost.

Lilly and Isabella sat in the stands watching our fight, Isabella eagerly observing our moves and Lilly slouching in her seat out of boredom. Kitsune, Arden (Unconscious as usual), Sarah, and Nix were also up there with them.

"Has anyone told you that your stun rounds are completely cheating?" I asked, clenching my hand. Still felt like my muscles were made of cotton.

"Several people." He said with a chuckle "But it works as Connor said they would." He checked their aura count on his scroll. He sat at around sixty percent, me about seventy five. "Want to go again? We're still good on our hit points."

I chuckled at the joke. "Whoever gets knocked down first loses again?"

"Why not? I'll wait till the rounds wear off." Lucas replied, retreating to a safe distance. Still a bit fuzzy, I raised my fists and prepared to fight. Lucas raised his rifle, taking aim at me.

As soon as the stun round's effect wore off I charged, evading to the left as Lucas unloaded a three round burst at me. I rolled to my feet and continued to close the distance between us. Lucas readjusted his aim.

Time slowed down, a mix of adrenaline and my semblance kicking in. My eyes narrowed, the details of my vision sharpening while my surroundings become faded and unimportant. This was my semblance's doing, making my senses as potent as a wild wolf hunting his prey. I guess being a descendant of a Grimm wasn't so bad after all.

By the time Lucas's finger tightened on the trigger I had already ducked, the cursed stun round passing less than an inch from the top of my head. I Knew from experience that if I stood up from my lowered position I would just be stopped with a well placed bullet. So instead, I used my semblance to boost the energy output of my legs and lunged at him. Instead of flying the thirty feet and cannonballing into the sniper like I planned, I ended up tripping and bounced past him while doing a very good impression of a tumble weed.

Lucas claimed victory by unloading one In my backside. Insult to injury anyone?

"I... Hate... You..." I growled between spasms.

"Says the guy flopping around like a fish." Lucas said with a smug smile as he pulled an empty magazine out of his gun and slung it over his shoulder. He pulled me to my feet and kept me from falling over as the stun round wore off.

I heard a clicking noise. "Ten seconds." Lilly claimed, storing her old stopwatch back in her pocket. "If you're going to lose, perverted dog, at least entertain me."

"Hey! If you've got a problem, step into the ring." I shot back. Lilly just rolled her eyes. "What!?" I called out, spreading my arms. "Are you not entertained!?"

"Oh look, the big bad wolf is picking a fight with a little girl." Lilly mocked, adding more of a bounce to her step as she walked out onto the training area. "He should know that he should never look down on his human."

I glared at Lilly. "You're a faunus too, you know." I pointed out.

"But you're still nothing more than a pet dog. It's quite the mystery on how you even got into this school. I mean, you're pretty pathetic, you know? You're weak, dumb, and pretty darn ugly. All for what? The chance to look at a little girl-" I cut her off with a fist to the gut. Her eyes widened with shock before she went flying across the room. She landed in a heap on the ground, coughing and gasping as she struggled for breath.

"Take it back." I growled, walking up to where she landed and glaring down at her.

"Looks like the house pet can bark." Lilly spat, getting to her feet. "Let's see if we can teach him to play dead." In one motion she drew her blade, unfolded it, and lunged at me. I side stepped and backhanded her. Lilly tumbled but managed to roll to her feet.

"Take it back." I growled again.

"NEVER!" Lilly yelled. Half of each of her blades on her double sword extended and curled back, a metal string shooting out and connecting them. She then rapid fire drew and fired a series of arrows at me.

The arrows moved through the air as if it were malaise. My opponent was frozen in place, a mix of rage and fear on her face. The bow string vibrated. Projectiles approached me, I snatched them out of the air with ease and snapped them.

Everyone else was stunned as the clatter of broken arrows on the ground rang out in the otherwise silent room. "Last warning. Take it back." I growled, taking a step forward. The ground beneath my foot cracked.

"W-W-What are you?" Lilly stammered, taking a step back involuntarily. I took another step forward, the cracks on the ground spreading.

"Take. It. Back." I growled.

"Kyle." Lucas's firm voice said in my ear. I felt him put a hand on my shoulder. "It's just Lilly. It's not worth it." I focused on his words, letting the energy drain from my limbs. I was still angry, but I knew the time had passed for that.

"Sorry Lucas." I apologized. "Didn't mean to go out of control."

"It's okay bro. Nothing got damaged except the reinforced training grounds." He gestured to the cracks spreading across the floor in all directions. I probably had some explaining to do when Goodwitch found out. "Lilly, a word of advice." Lucas said to the girl who was still frozen in her spot. "Don't look down on Kyle for liking Ruby. He has a strong connection to her that you couldn't guess."

"Why?" Lilly asked, not taking her eyes off of me. "Why could she possibly be so important?"

I sighed, putting my hands in my pockets. "She's not just some girl in the crowd, if you could tell. I owe the girl my life." I explained the story to her, how that "little girl" was responsible for my very life. And to add to it, she didn't even remember me. "Do you know what it's like to owe someone for your life and have no idea how to repay them? I want her to know just what she did, just how much of a difference she's already made. But I can't. I have nothing to show for it, nothing at all." I looked down at my hands, hard and worn. "I haven't begun to repay her for the gift she gave me."

Lilly didn't speak, instead looking back at the damage I had caused. Doubt filled her eyes and she bit her lip, her eyes downcast as my words came into full meaning to her.

"I'm sorry." The smaller faunus apologized, not meeting my eye. "I guess I was a bit out of line."

"No, I should be apologizing." I said. "You were just being spiteful like usual. I should have just continued to ignore you like usual, but I ended up snapping. I shouldn't have used that much strength against anyone, let alone you."

"But-"

"Lilly, I know you still hold the first day against me. It's okay for you to be angry. But I could kill you with what I did. That's unacceptable." I glanced at Lucas. He nodded "Especially to someone in my family." Her eyes widened, a mix of emotions and thoughts filling them. "I'm sorry."

"Am I in that family too?" A certain armored green titan asked, somehow making it directly behind me without me noticing.

"Y-Yeah, I guess." I said, flinching from her sudden appearance. " how long have you been standing there?"

"About halfway through you're fight." She replied.

"Ooookay then." I said. "At least I know someone was willing to take me out if I turned into a threat." I did not find the idea of getting a hit from her armored fist pleasant.

"It's what I'm here for boss." She replied brightly. I found it unsettling considering she was a Templar. At least, according to Ozpin.

"So anyway." Lucas butted in. "Since you too aren't fighting anymore, anyone want lunch?"

 **Hey guys, it's the author. Sorry it took so long, but since I've only recently been able to type as much as want. That would be amazing and all, but since it's been so long I seem to have lost my fire. So while I struggle to find it again, here's a short chapter I've been working on for the last month. This might take a while.**


	6. Chapter 6

I woke up to the sound of a giant snoring, Liliruca laughing, and the pitiful sound of Lucas whimpering. _I don't even want to know._ I thought to myself as I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. "What's going on?" I asked groggily, the room slowly coming into clarity.

"Kyle. Help." Lucas's strained voice sounded out from his bed, causing some more snickers from Lilly. Once I could see him, I couldn't help but join Lilly.

Sometime during the night Isabella had gotten up and somehow ended up in Lucas's bed. She now had one arm wrapped around his chest tightly and the other around his neck just as tightly. She had one of her legs draped over his, cuddling as close to him as possible. To top it off, she was in her pink pajama bottoms and a plain white tee shirt.

"Dude, not cool. You already got a girlfriend." I commented, swinging my legs off my bed. I was wearing blue sweatpants and lacked a shirt, toned muscles on show along with lack of weight.

"Just.. Save... Me... Darn... It..." Lucas's face was turning purple, my partner strangling him pretty hard.

I debated taking a picture and sending it to Nix before discarding the idea. "Atten-tion!" I barked loudly, causing the human tank to fly out of bed and snap into salute. I had learned early on this was virtually the only way to wake up Isabella, thought I still can't quite comprehend why. "At ease." I told her. she lowered her hand. "Why were you in Lucas's bed?"

"Sir! I was cold, sir!" She responded immediately.

"And you find it socially acceptable to sleep with someone else because you're cold?" I questioned further. "Lucas already has a girlfriend."

"I know that sir! I see nothing wrong with it. I do it all the time at home, sir!" She responded.

Again I had to wonder just what kind of home Isabella came from. She had the strength and skill of someone with military experience, but still had the mindset of a small child at times. "Alright." I sighed. "Isabella, you can't do that here. It's not normal for people like us. And I told you to stop calling me sir."

"Yes sir- I mean, Kyle." Isabella replied. I gave her a thumbs up.

"Thanks." Lucas said, finally breathing again. While Isabella and I had been talking he had been regaining function in his lungs, coughing up a storm. "I wouldn't have lasted another minute in her hold." His face turned slightly red as he remembered the details. "You won't tell Nix, will you?"

"I'll try not to." I replied with a smirk. He smiled, knowing she wouldn't learn of this morning from me.

"Thanks man." He said, clapping my hand. This morning's theatrics over, we got dressed and ready for class. Which meant that Lucas, Lilly, and I took turns using the bathroom while Isabella straight up stripped her clothes off in front of us and put on her uniform before donning her armor. Again, who the hell raised this girl?

After we all were dressed we went down to join team VARS for breakfast. Lucas sat next to Nix, Isabella and Sarah talked up a storm, and Kitsune, Lilly, and I built the a tower of silverware and plates on top of Arden's head while he took a nap in his salad, breaking several laws of physics in the process. You know, normal stuff.

"Now that I think about it," Lilly said, placing another plate on top of the already foot and a half tall structure. "I don't think I've ever actually seen your boyfriend awake, Kitsune." The larger of the fox faunus, who was adding a cup on top of our tower, just about fell over backwards as she began waving her hands around, denying it vehemently.

"Wh-Who ever said we were dating!?" Kitsune said, hitting me in the back of the head on accident and knocking me into our tower. The large amount of kitchen wear fell down right on top of Isabella, who tanked the hit and didn't even notice. "Oops, sorry."

"It's ok, everyone's fine." I replied, rubbing the back of my head. She hit me pretty hard.

"Yeah, Kyle's too stupid to feel that." Lilly told her, earning her a "hey!" from me. "So anyway, back to what I was saying. Does your boyfriend ever wake up?"

"He's not my boyfriend." Kitsune replied, the redness in her face telling a different tale. "I mean, it's not like he's a bad guy, he just never... Well, he did... Maybe... But it's not in that way..." She trailed off, poking her pointer fingers together as her face continued to grow redder.

"Yeah, and I'm a rabbit." Lilly replied. "Face it, this human crouton is your biggest crush on the planet." Said human crouton gave a small snore, shifting a bit in his food and revealing his face. With those thick glasses on it was hard to tell if he was awake or asleep, let alone what his eye color was. Out of curiosity, I reached over to take off the glasses.

The instant my fingers touched the metal frames a dark, ominous presence froze me in my tracks. It was as if death itself was breathing down my neck. "Leave him alone." Kitsune said, her voice as threatening as the look she was giving me. I could barely get my hand to retract, a cold sweat breaking out all over my body.

Obviously I wasn't the only one who was being affected by the fox faunus's dark aura. Everyone else within a twenty foot radius were suddenly holding stark still, sweat rolling down their necks. Isabella didn't seem affected. In fact, she was returning Kitsune's look with her hand grasping her weapon. Everyone was tense.

Suddenly Arden sat bolt upright with such speed we heard the crack of his joints as he gave himself whiplash. For the first time in history, Arden was awake.

"Sorry Arden, I didn't mean to wake you." She told her ever sleeping teammate, dissipating her aura. Arden's demeanor relaxed, but his face remained blank. He tilted his head to the side slightly. "Wolf boy tried to take your glasses off." Kitsune told him. Arden frowned slightly. "No, I stopped him in time." The frown disappeared. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Sarah and Nix had each pulled out small books and seemed to be looking something up. _Arden Cross, how to control and read your sleepy friend- version three_ was written on the cover.

Arden made a series of hand movements. "Combat class." Kitsune replied. "You don't have to participate, but you still need to be there." Arden tilted his head to the side slightly before shrugging. Then he went back to sleep.

"You pamper him too much." Sarah said, returning to herself rather quickly. This must be more common than I thought.

"How often does he wake up?" I asked, keeping my hands away from the boy.

"Every day. He walks on his own."

"Most of the time." Nix butted in.

"Most of the time." Kitsune agreed begrudgingly. "He is awake during class occasionally, though even I have a hard time discerning when he is awake or asleep. He is also awake to eat enough to stay alive." It must have been just barely, considering the guy was extraordinarily skinny. The brown coat he favored was also pretty worn, hanging off his body like loose rags. Not for the first time, I wondered how such a weakling got into beacon.

I made a mental note that checking his pulse was not necessary. "So why is he always asleep?" I asked.

"Would you believe me if I said he just really likes sleep?" Kitsune replied.

"No."

"Well, I got nothing else to tell ya." She said, shrugging her shoulders. It was then that the bell rang, warning the students they had five minutes to get to class. "Hey, great timing. Since we have combat class together, you get to see him walk. Just give me a moment to wake him up." She leaned in close to his ear and did something, maybe a whisper, maybe a kiss, maybe both. Arden groaned, probably one of the first voluntary noises he ever made in our presence. He raised an eyebrow at his leader. "Time for class." She told him. He got up without a word.

As our group made its way to the practice area, I tagged along close to Sarah to ask some questions.

"Hey Sarah." I whispered behind my hand.

"What?" She whispered back.

"Is Arden, you know, mute?" I asked. To my surprise, she laughed.

"No, not even close." She replied. "Arden is very conservative about his energy and finds conversation wasteful. That's why he uses body language and hand movements when he wants to communicate. It's got a bit of sign language, but a lot is Arden original."

"So that book you had..."

"It's devoted to how to read Arden." Kitsune called from the head of the pack. "We'll supply you with copies later."

"Sure." Arden said, walking next to her. I couldn't help but notice that he was smiling at her. It also made the faunus girl a little flustered.

We entered the class room /gladiator arena and took our seats. Most of the other students had already arrived, so it didn't take long for the last of us to arrive. When the bell rang again, Ms. Goodwitch took center stage and started explaining how this class worked and what the rules were. I took this crucial instruction time to barely listen to her while poking Arden in the cheek, trying to figure out if he was awake or not. At least, until I heard the teach say something interesting for once.

"So to conclude, can I have a pair of volunteers for the first match? Set an example for the other students?" Almost immediately Sarah's hand was in the air, the rest of her body quickly following as she began hopping up and down like a squirrel on three shots of espresso. A lot of people couldn't help laughing, me included. The action even brought a small rare smile to Goodwitch's face. "Sarah Cain is it? Please make your way down." She looked at the students as my friend worked her way down to the battlefield. "Is there anyone willing to spar with miss Cain?" She questioned, her eyes sweeping over he stands.

"I'll take her" A boy in armor called out, standing up with his arm raised. I recognized him as the guy who tried to cop a feel on Sarah during the ride on the airship.

"Ah, Cardin Winchester. Please make your way down as well, then." Goodwitch said, checking her scroll briefly before interacting with a few things. A large screen descended, Sarah and Cardin's pictures appearing with a green bar next to them.

"I went easy on you last time, powder puff." Cardin growled.

Sarah smiled. "Same here hair gel." She said in a friendly manner, brushing her hair to imitate Cardin's. This pissed him off.

"Alrighty then." Goodwitch cut in. "Before you two start on your own, I'll remind you once more. When you're aura drops into the red, you're out. If you continue to fight after your opponent is in the red, I will step in and stop you and you will get severe consequences. Am I understood? Good. Then in three. Two. One. Fight!"

Cardin had started swinging his mace down on Sarah before the countdown finished in hopes of getting a dirty first strike in. Sarah just smiled and drew a line in the air with the pointer and middle fingers of her left hand, causing what appeared to be a gust of wind to strike Cardin back.

"Glad you accept my offer." She said sweetly. She flicked the air and Cardin visibly recoiled as if hit in the face. "To be honest, I didn't think you were brave enough to accept a challenge from me."

"Why you little-" Cardin charged and swung, his mace successfully hitting her this time. Sarah took the hit to her side, stumbling a bit. Cardin swung again and again, hitting her half a dozen times before she stopped his mace mid swing with her hand.

"Enjoy that, sweaty pie?" She asked, her face one of glee and extreme amusement.

The next thing Cardin knew he was sent flying by a vicious uppercut to the chin. He landed hard, his armor striking the ground and clanging like a bell.

"What in the...?" He groaned, the room spinning wildly. "By now you should definitely be hurting."

"You're pretty weak, little bird." Sarah taunted. "Look at our aura levels."

Cardin turned his gaze to the screen, his mouth falling open at what he saw. Out all those hits, he had only reduced her by about ten percent. And that one punch she gave him... Fifteen percent.

"What are you?" He asked, starting to fear the beast before him.

"Someone who's been holding back." She replied. Her fist began to glow green, getting brighter and brighter as the seconds wore on. "You see, I use my aura for everything from fighting to medical practice. I am even able to create solids out of it. And you..." She cracked her knuckles menacingly. "Thought that this butt was yours for the taking. Here's my answer."

ONE PUUUUUUUNNNNNNCCHHHHHH! (Que One Punch Man OST.)

Cardin sank into the ground, his aura depleting completely to defend the hit. And he still gets a rather brutal hit the face. At the same time, almost thirty percent of Sarah's aura disappeared. She wasn't holding back at all.

"Aaaaannnnddd, we're done here." Sarah said brightly, brushing off her hands. Cardin was no longer conscious to respond.

"The victor is Sarah Cain!" Goodwitch announced, a storm of applause following close behind.

 **Hey guys, I'm going to leave it here today. So any how, I got a few announcements to make.**

 **First off, schools back in session. I'm in my junior year of high school and we all know how difficult that is.**

 **Second off, I now have an actual paying job. So when I get out of school I still have to spend a large amount of time not writing. I work as clean team (a janitor) because I got this crazy idea of you never see the world for how it really is unless you start from the bottom and work your way up. If anyone is curious, I work at the maple grove cub, Minnesota. I doubt anyone will actually know which one is me though.**

 **Lastly, I am no longer single. That's right peeps, I got a girlfriend. Her name's Teara and we've been together since early June, 2016. She's kind of a ditzy but that's her only real flaw and I love her dearly anyway. Just to warn you, I will spend every second I can with her and that will take more time out of my writing. I'm not sorry for this one.**

 **Ok, about the chapter. The part where Isabella gets caught sleeping / accidentally strangling Lucas has been an idea of mine ever since I came up with her character. Before any of you ask, no she said is not based off my own girl. Teara's not a giant, nor is she as strong as a tank, and no she doesn't do the kind of things Isabella does. That's part of Isabella's past, not my girlfriend. You'll see more ditzy shenanigans later on.**

 **Now about Arden. He is a character I took from my favorite story and the story that got me to start my writing career, The misadventures of a sleepy hunter. And so you know, I've kept everything just how the last author left him, changing kitsune a bit as they come in after where their original story ends. Sorta.**

 **Now minus the one punch man, the end of the chapter is indeed a rare moment of a vengeful Sarah taking out the guy who groped her in chapter one. Prompts to anyone who can guess how she totally took that fight so easily, just pm me. I can guaranty your wrong.**

 **Favorite, follow, review! I'm always open to talk to my loyal readers. I appreciate you guys a lot and I want to hear what you think, feel, and just in general what's going on.**

 **I'll see you next time folks!**


	7. Chapter 7

She stalked through the trees with her weapon in hand, making no noise or disturbing the leaves that littered the forest floor. The silhouette of beacon academy stood out against the night sky ahead of her. The air was still, an unusual silence assaulting her ears.

A slight breeze blew from behind her like the last breath of a great beast. By the time the wind died, she had disappeared.

* * *

Connor opened the door to the beacon forge room, stepping inside before silently closing the door. The lights were turned off, but the darkness didn't bother him. He was a rabbit faunus after all. He walked past the work benches and stools, taking note that some still had half finished projects on them.

He approached the counter and silently crawled over the top, knowing from experience that the door creaked loudly when it was moved. Ignoring the many shelves containing multitudes of parts, he walked to the door in the back corner and opened it.

"You're late." A voice met him as he entered. There was a metallic noise and a small fire sprang into existence. The light illuminated the large, muscled arm of a man in his early twenties. Even though it was late at night, Beacon's head smith was still wide awake and waiting. "It's unusual for you to be out for so long without sending word." He said, lighting a candle on his desk before closing his lighter.

"Sorry man, I ran into some trouble and missed my airship." Connor said, dropping his bag on one of the beds. The room was relatively small, containing two beds with a dresser each, a single desk, and a TV on the wall above the desk. A door led to a bathroom, situated between the beds.

"Sir-" the man started, but Connor cut him off.

"Tyler, please. Call me Connor. When it's just the two of us, we're brothers, not Smiths." Connor told his older brother, a soft smile on his lips. It was the kind of smile that put others at ease, as innocent and friendly as that of a child's. "When you sign out of that clock we stop being boss and employee until we clock back in."

Tyler smiled. "Yes Connor."

* * *

I hit the pavement hard as I was literally kicked out of the buffet, sliding pathetically on the pavement. I could tell I lost some skin through my shirt.

"And stay out!" The owner yelled as the rest of my team exited, slamming the door behind them. I flinched at the loud noise.

"Wasn't that a little harsh?" I asked, picking myself up and wiping the stones out out of my cheek. "It is an all you can eat restaurant." I had to duck because as soon as I said that a plate came flying out an open window straight at me.

"Time to leave Kyle." Lucas said, motioning for us to follow. "Isabella in back in case more plates come along."

"Why me?" Isabella interjected.

"Because you're the only one dressed in heavy armor." I replied. "Come on, we're done here." I motioned to Lucas. "Lead on, Skywalker."

We wandered around Vale, me trying to break the world record for getting kicked out of restaurants. At one point we ran into Bruce, fully outfitted as batman and following a pair of weasel faunus. Me and Lucas mysteriously gained thirty lien each. Isabella gained a woopy cushion that went off loudly whenever she walked. Classic.

At one point I saw a pair of snow white rabbit ears in the crowd and paused.

"What's up?" Lucas asked, looking over his shoulder in an attempt to see where my eyes were looking.

"I thought I saw... yeah, it him! Come on!" I started to push my way through the crowd, chasing after the pair of bunny ears. "Hey Connor, wait up!" The rabbit faunus didn't hear me and continued walking with the flow of traffic with a large box in his hands. I was almost on him when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Wait." Lucas said, removing his hands. A mischievous grin was pulling at the corner of his lips. "Connor doesn't like surprises, does he?" It didn't even take a second for me to mirror his thoughts, a wolffish grin of my own appearing.

"And what do you have in mind?" I asked, an evil chuckle rising in my throat. The girls just shook their heads as we plotted our little crime.

* * *

(Connor's POV)

I walked hurriedly down the street with a prototype in my arms, doing my best not to trip and fall with the heavy box. I was late for my meeting, and it was highly important that I deliver these parts on time.

I tripped and stumbled into a guy in a grey sweatshirt. "Excuse me." I apologized, continuing on with my head down. He grunted, paying no mind to me. Great thing about being a faunus, humans generally don't care what you do sometimes. Other times they watch you too closely. All because of the ears on our heads.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw someone duck into a clothing store but immediately dismissed it as just another person shopping. And why did that mannequin look so life like?

"Arg! I'm getting distracted!" I shook my head and picked up the pace.

* * *

(Kyle's point of view)

"How the hell did he not see you?" I asked Lucas. He was standing in the window of a clothing store, striking a heroic pose and advertising a pair of blue jeans and a grey sweatshirt. I had the sense to hide in a corner. "No one is stupid enough to believe your fake..

"I got no clue. He seemed a bit distracted by something." Lucas commented, checking to make sure their target wasn't looking before hopping down from the window. "It should be safe to start following again."

We crept out of the store and started to blend in with he crowd, following the direction that Connor went. We made sure to keep close to the shops in case our target looks at us again.

We followed Connor down the streets and out of the shops, through the business part of town. Here it became hard to follow him on the street as we could no longer duck into the buildings. So we did the sensible thing. We climbed onto the roof and followed him that way, me throwing Lucas to the next roof when it was too far.

A few minutes later they got to a point where there was no more roofs to jump too.

"Why is he going to beacon tower?" I wondered out loud.

* * *

(Connor's POV)

I was halfway to the door when I felt a tingle on the back of my neck. _Shit_. "Activate." I growled. The flashed white and for a split second I could see everything. I was suddenly aware of everyone within a half a mile radius, aware of how many of those people were armed. I was aware of every stone, every plant, every ant.

Suddenly an alarm bell rang in my ears and my head hurt. _Focus_. I discarded all the information but a few, trying to zone in on what was out of place. Slowly the picture in my head faded, five lights shining in the remaining gloom. Three people on the roof tops, two on the ground in flanking position. There was a large woman, human, heavily armored on his right flank. On my left flank was a red fox faunus girl, hiding so well in the crowd he probably wouldn't notice her if he hadn't activated his semblance. On the roof tops two of the lights had tags attached, identifying them as Kyle and Lucas. The last light, three buildings away from them was...

"Shoot."

A gunshot rang out and I fell.


	8. Chapter 8

She laid on the slanted roof, her rifle Snow White perched on the crest. She aimed down the sight, opting not to use a scope due to the time of day. She steadied her breathing, scanning the crowd below for her target. He was late.

A bead of sweat escaped from the folds of her bandanna and trickled down her brow, but she dared not wipe it away. Her target just walked out of the business, the opposite direction than the docks. That was wrong, the intel said he was supposed to be coming from the docks. He might be expecting her.

Slowly, deliberately, she pushed up the bolt of her rifle and pulled it back to load a round into the chamber before pushing it back into place. The rifle was loaded. She highly doubted those ears could hear the sound of the parts moving, even if he was a faunus. There's just too many people present, too much noise.

When the target got halfway to the tower he stopped. She steadied her aim, knowing any collateral was against the rules. Then the target turned, his eyes scanning the rooftops before his eyes stopped on her.

"Shit." She swore, letting off the shot. The bullet went through his upper shoulder and must have clipped his collarbone, causing him to spin as he fell. Her hand was a blur as she pulled back the bolt, ejected the spent round, and loaded another one in the chamber. "Wait, what?" Her high power rounds should just blast right through his bones, so why did he spin.

Playing on a hunch, she quickly fired again, only for it to be stopped by a green wall of metal springing into existence.

* * *

(Kyle's POV)

I watched as my friend's body fell to the ground, a cold feeling washing over me and freezing my limbs. I barely registered Isabella running to the downed rabbit. The second shot came, but I didn't even see Isabella block the bullet. I turned to the source of the sound, the only noise I could hear. The sniper had gotten to her feet and was fleeing, her job finished.

"She killed him," I whispered, the cold warming to a dangerous heat. The edge of my vision flickered like a red flame, rage consuming me. "She killed him."

She wore green military fatigues and a white tank top, revealing her earthly colored skin. Her hair was braided, keeping her black hair out of her face. A face I didn't get to see as she turned and fled.

"Go to Connor," I growled. "I'm going hunting." I ran to the edge of the roof and sprang high into the air landing on all fours. I quickly got to my feet, my eyes scanned the roof where the assassin had been, ignoring the damage I had caused. There she was two buildings away, climbing down a fire escape. I ran across the roof, my feet digging into shingles under them. I was physically growing as I chased her, my hair growing longer and thicker all over my body.

When I jumped to the next roof I slipped, shoving my claws into the wood to catch myself. I then threw myself forward, continuing to run on all fours. By now the assassin had descended to the ground, out of my sight but not yet gone. I jumped the last ten feet and over the edge, landing with a heavy thud in a dingy cramped ally, both sides fenced off from the street. I quickly scanned the area, searching for my prey.

* * *

(Assassin's POV)

I hung from an iron support attached to the fire escape, my legs locked together so I could still use my hands to hold my rifle. I was on the second floor, but even with the lower platform in the way, I had no problem getting a steady aim on the Fenrir. He was massive, Truly a monster of legends.

The beast looked like someone had tried to put an alpha beowolf in human clothes and taught it to stand like a man. It drew deep breaths and slowly turned in place, trying to sniff me out. I waited for the right angle and squeeze the trigger, the shot connected with its head and the beast collapsed.

"Gotcha." I said smugly, removing myself from my perch and dropped down to the ground. "Dumb wolf, falling right into my trap. And I was told you were basically immortal, too." I kicked the wolf. Then I grabbed the center of Snow White, pulling a small switch on the butt of the rifle. The top of my stock unfolded, forming an axe blade while the barrel receded. In my hand now sat an axe.

I swung.

* * *

(Kyle's POV)

My head ached with the power of fifteen elephants, my vision and hearing barely working. It was impossible to hold a straight thought. Well, I did have one thought. That really really fucking hurt. I thought. My skull was ringing like someone gave a five-year-old a coffee and a hammer and let them have fun on my head.

I felt something slam into my side but I could do nothing to defend myself. The pain helped me focus though, if only barely. I barely registered the voice of a girl above me. I tried to open my eyes.

Sometimes sharp collided with the back of my neck. Thankfully I was in my Grimm form, otherwise I would have lost my head (See chapter one). My eyes opened, my vision still fuzzy and funny colors, but at least I could see.

"Fuck." The girl said, hacking at my neck with her weapon again in a panic. After the third hit I swatted the weapon away. The pain from the attacks was increasing and my body was starting to change back to normal. I had to get to my feet and defend myself.

That was easier said than done. With my transformation fading, I tried to focus on keeping my arms transformed while defending off the assassin's incoming attacks. It was nearly impossible to keep my footing as the headache threw off my balance, much less block her attacks.

I stumbled to the left as the assassin swung her axe, then fell to the ground as she twisted around, redirecting the attack in attempts to cut me in half. Her whole body followed up the strike and she flipped into the air, her weapon transforming into a rifle and she let off a shot at me. I just barely blocked it with my still Grimm arms and rolled to my feet.

I barely kept my balance just to do that much and a kick to my back was all it took to take me down. I tried to move, only to be pinned down by a foot slamming into the back of my neck. My arms reverted to normal, leaving me back in my t-shirt and jeans. My gauntlets were still on my arms, but they wouldn't stop a high caliber rifle round.

"You are pathetic." The assassin sneered, spitting on me. "Tell me beast. Why do you exist?" She asked, keeping her weapon pointed at my head. It was obvious she didn't expect an answer.

"I exist." I growled, the foot on my neck making it hard to speak. "For my family!" I swung arm at her ankle, my fingers turning to claws. The assassin dodged out of the way instinctively, allowing me to get up. My headache was starting to dull, making conscious thought possible. And now anger flowed through me freely again.

The assassin raised her rifle and I dodged to the side, I could feel the heat from the bullet as it passed mere centimeters away from me. I rebounded from the wall and threw a flying punch at the assassin and she ducked under it, only to take a punch between the shoulders as I spun to hit her with my other fist. She countered by changing her weapon into an axe and spinning to bury it in my neck. I blocked it with one of my gauntlets and punched her, causing her to stagger. Seeing an opening, I swept her feet out from underneath her before driving my fist into her face. I felt a sudden great pain as the assassin hit me in the balls, using the dirty trick to push me off me. Her nose was bleeding profusely, splattering the ground with blood as she stood up.

We stood watching each other, each of us catching our breaths from the beating we gave each other. Then we began once again, our dance practiced and coordinated. Each of us fought like our lives depended on it, which for me that was the case.

The assassin swung her weapon at my side, back in the form of an axe. I jumped back to avoid the attack, then ducked past her as she turned the attack around and struck at my head. I tried to land a punch on the back of her head, but she deflected it with her weapon as she spun to face me and planted one of her own in my stomach. I grunted in pain but kept my mind focused on the fight. She slashed at my throat and I blocked the attack with my gauntlet, my free hand shooting out and landing a punch on her chin. She responded by hooking my arm with the curve of her axe blade and falling into a roll, dragging me to the ground while she sprung to her feet. She spun agilely, raising her weapon into the air to deliver a quick, devastating blow that would end my life. I rolled to the side futilely, trying to avoid the blow.

The weapon was four inches away from my body when an arrow hit it, a shockwave smashing into both of us as the projectile detonated. The weapon was sent flying out of the assassin's hand, clattering to the pavement a few feet away.

"Damm mutt, if you made any more noise the people in Atlas could hear you." A silhouette on the rooftop called down to me. The sunlight gleamed off her bow as she knocked another arrow.

"Sorry to disturb your sleep, I'll try to not get killed more quietly next time!" I called back, coughing. I still had aura, but blocking an explosion put quite a strain on it. None the less, I was glad to see the fox faunus.

The assassin's eyes narrowed into a steely glare. "A delicate weed joins the fight." She hissed, then started to retrieve her weapon. An arrow cut her off, clattering off the ground in front of her.

I picked myself up, keeping a careful eye on my opponent. "You killed the wrong rabbit." I growled, drawing my knives. "Any last words, bitch?"

"Why yes." The assassin said, smirking. "Let me give you some advice, a reward for your kill. Never under any circumstances..." She paused, leaning in. "Let your prey speak."

Too late, I realized what she was doing and attacked. She knocked aside my thrust before catching my arm as I tried to stab her in the neck. She ducked under my arm and then pinned it behind me, using me as a shield from any incoming arrows. I growled and tried to break free, but she twisted my arm painfully and I stopped.

"Should have killed me when you had the chance." She growled in my ear.

"Who are you?" I asked. She chuckled.

"Ask my dearest flower bud up there." The assassin reached up and tugged off her bandanna, two small fox ears twitching at the sudden touch of a slight breeze.

Lilly's eyes widened and her jaw went slack, but her hands gripped her weapon tighter. I could see her lips move in a whisper but the words never reached my ears. Seeing her chance, the assassin swiped something from behind her and flung it to the ground. A billowing cloud of smoke erupted around us and I felt something heavy impact with the back of my head. Then everything went black.


	9. Chapter 9

I woke up on the cold, hard ground as someone dumped a bottle of water on my face. "Sto- arg!" I sputtered, trying to fend off the water and getting it up my nose. The water stopped shortly later and I looked up at my watery aggressor. Liliruca stood over me, an empty bottle in her hand.

"Good morning pups." Lilly said, tossing the plastic bottle into one of the nearby trash can. I groan and sit up, only to quickly look around when I remembered what had happened. "She's gone already." Lily said, offering me her hand. I took it.

"Why is it," I asked. "that every time something big happens I get knocked out?"

"You're just fond of sleeping on the job." Lily replied. "How you feeling?"

"Sore." I grunted. I felt the back of my head where I had been shot, silently thinking I was lucky I was in my transformed form when I took the shot. "Who was that bitch?" Lily was silent, not answering my question. I looked up at her face and was startled to find it unreadable, as solid as stone. It was almost as if she put on a mask. "Lily?"

"If you value our friendship." She said slowly, her words as cold and sharp as steel. "You will understand that I don't want to be asked about her. She is someone from my past, a past I've done everything I can to leave behind." A very dark, sad look flashed in her eyes before vanishing.

I was at a loss. I didn't know what was going on, but Lily rarely said something she didn't mean. I know from experience. "Okay then. I won't ask." I told her. She visibly looked relieved, her facial features softening. "But if I ever meat her again I'm allowed to kill her, right?"

Lily laughed. "Be my guest." A comfortable silence developed between us, and I felt as if the bond between us grow stronger. Then the moment passed.

"We should get back to Isabella." Lily said, hefting herself onto a dumpster and peering over the wooden fence that separated the alley from the city streets. There was a crowd of people keeping their distance, watching wearily. Some had their scrolls out and had been recording what was going on. Lilly quickly ducked back down to avoid notice.

"How many?" I asked.

"Where in luck." Lily replied sarcastically. "You only managed to attract half the city. We need to go up if we don't want to be caught." She pointed at the fire escape, the ladder pulled up and out of reach. "Think you can give me a lift?"

"If I tried I could probably throw you all the way up." I replied, getting down in a squat and cupping my hands.

"I doubt that." Lily said, stepping onto my hand. Utilizing my semblance, I threw her. I only managed to get her up three fourths of the way. Ignoring her smug look I jumped and grabbed the rail of the first level and took the stairs. We climbed on the roof and made our way across the the service door, which Lily set to work on with a bobby pin that she had on the back of her head. When I questioned her where she learned to pick locks, she shrugged. "I had a job before I entered Beacon. One my coworkers taught me how to do this. Just in case, you know?"

The door clicked and swung open. Lily quickly checked the hall to make sure no one was watching before we slipped inside. We exited the building through the front door, looking at the spectacle at the alley with fake interest before moving on.

we stopped a few minutes later when we could no longer hear the sirens of the police cars, then I pulled out my scroll and phoned Isabella.

The scroll rang three times before she answered. "Captain, captain is that you?" Isabella's voice came through the speaker. I could hear her anxiety in her tone.

"Yes Is', it's me." I said. "Got my ass handed to me royally, but I'm still alive." A wave of grief passed over me, and I remembered Connor collapsing as a gun retort echoed over the plaza. "Wish I could say that for Connor."

There was a pause. "What about the guy who shot the rabbit? Did you kill him?" Isabella question in a more hushed voice.

"She got away." I said bitterly. "She would have killed me too if Lily didn't show up in the knick of time."

I heard Isabella sigh. "I'm glad no one died."

"But your wrong." I growled angrily. "Connor died. He died to a gun he didn't even see, for a reason he and his family will be denied!" A tear rolled down my cheek. "He died, and I couldn't even avenge him."

"What? N-no... Look, the rabbit's alive." Isabella's words hit hard, my heart clenching into a stone before beating again painfully. "He's in a lot of pain, but he's still alive."

"Where are you? Is he going to be okay? How bad is it? When-" my questions were stopped by Isabella's calming tone.

"Where at Northern lights hospital, they just checked him in. I'll tell you what the doctor says when I hear from him later."

"Screw later, I'm coming right now!" I told her, hanging up before she had the chance to complain. Turning to Lilly, I quickly give her the short version. "Rabbit lives. Hospital. Follow me." And with that I took of running, the rapid patter of the smaller girls feet right behind me.

* * *

The hospital orderlies were unusually helpful when a pair of heavily teenagers rushed in, so we managed to get to the room Connor was in with little difficulty. Outside the door paced Isabella, still in her suite of armor and sword on her back. She had a solemn look on her face when she spotted us.

"Is he going to be okay?" I asked, suddenly even more worried.

An armored hand slammed into my face. I stumbled, staring unbelieving at the girl who backhanded me. "You fool. What were you thinking?" She demanded stonily. She slapped me again before I could answer. "What about us, captain? When your friend got shot you went running halfway across the city! So what if you actually killed the shooter, you still left him behind to die."

"Hey, I thought-" I started, but the wind was knocked out of me with a heavy.

"You didn't even check if he was alive!" Isabella cried, slamming her fist into the side of my face. "What if it was me? What if it was Lilly? What if it was Lucas?" With each name she threw a punch, each punch strong enough to send a normal person flying. She punched almost as hard as Sarah. "So of you simply leave your friends and family to die-" she gasped when her hand was stopped in it's tracks. My hand quavered from the force of the impact, but I held.

"Do you know what it's like to watch your whole world shatter before your eyes?" I asked in a deep growl. "Have you ever witnessed your entire family killed before you're eyes, without either rhyme or reason?" Isabella shuddered when our eyes met. "Things like that break you. Once broken, you never quite heal."

"My family was killed right in front of me, an event you of all people should know about." My sight seemed to shift. I still saw Isabella clearly, but at the same time I watched the body of my father fall, cut down without even drawing his weapon in self defense. I could hear my mother's scream again, then watched her blood fly through the air as her threat was slit. I shook my head with a growl, chasing away the vision. Here was not the place, nor the time.

"You're not the only one who lost people that night." Isabella whispered, leaning in so only I could hear her. The looks they were exchanging were filled with old, burning hatred. "My blood is on your hands."

"As is yours." I growled back. We continued to glare at each other, all pretense of ignorance thrown away.

Finally Lilly interrupted. "Are you two going to keep holding hands, or should I leave you alone?" She asked uncomfortably, diverting her gaze. We struggled against each other for a second before backing off, neither of us willing to take our eyes off each other.

I was saved from an uncomfortable silence when a nurse poked her head out of Connor's room. "He's awake and can see you now." She informed, stepping to the side in anticipation of us rushing in to see him.

The girls started towards the door, but I caught Isabella by the shoulder. "Isabella, we're not enemies. But if you hurt anyone in my family..." I let the threat hang in the air as I walked past her.

Connor was sitting up bed when I entered, his right arm bandaged and laying limp at his side. I felt a pang of sorrow, knowing that to some extent this was my fault.

"Hey Fido." Connor said, smiling weakly.

"Hey Connor. Still alive and hopping I see." I replied, forcing a smile.

Connor groaned. "Don't go making me laugh now. I've been shot after all."

"Speaking of which, how you holding up?" I replied, taking a seat on the end of the bed. "No one has told me how bad it is."

"The bullet was meant for my heart." Connor replied, chuckling a little. "I managed to duck out of the way a little, so I only suffered from a shattered collar bone and shredded muscle. The bullet also pierced through my shoulder blade, cracking it in two. In short, this arm is long past useless."

I chuckled, a tear escaping my clutches and rolling down my cheek. "You crazy bastard, you talk like someone didn't try to kill you earlier."

"What can I say? I learned from the best." Connor replied. We shared a laugh, the cold claws of regret squeezing on my heart when he flinched in pain.

I sighed. "This is no laughing matter." I said grimly. The smile slowly faded from Connors face.

"No. I guess it's not." The rabbit faunus smoothed out the wrinkles in his cover with his good hand, staring absentmindedly at the cloth.

"You know it occurred to me." Isabella said drawing his attention again. "What were you doing at the tower to begin with?" She pointed at the box in the corner, rather beaten and torn. "We recovered this from the site of the attack. I may not recognize them, but the parts in there are clearly superior to even Atlas military uses in their droids. Who are you? Truly."

"Isabella!" I cried, turning to her in rage.

"No Kyle, she's right." Connor said comfortingly, causing me to back down. "I just wish I never had to tell you this in such away."

"What do you mean?..." I asked.

Connor was silent for a time and avoided making eye contact with anyone. When he met my eye again, his were full of remorse. "I am not who you think I am." He started. "I never told you my last name, and the reason I'm in Vale."

"My name is Connor Ironwood. And I am in hiding."

 **to the real Connor, a loyal reader who hounds me daily for updates... CLIFFHANGER!**


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